424,026 Shares in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Bought by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP established a new position in Wintrust Financial by buying 424,026 shares in Q4 valued at about $59.29 million, roughly 0.63% of the company.
• Wintrust beat Q1 expectations with $3.22 EPS vs. $2.96 expected and revenue of $713.2M (up 10.9% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share (annualized $2.20; 1.5% yield; ex-dividend May 14).
• Recent insider selling included the CFO offloading 3,020 shares and the COO 9,579 shares, leaving insiders with about 1.24% ownership while institutional investors hold ~93.48%.

Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 424,026 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $59,287,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.63% of Wintrust Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 49.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,019 shares of the bank's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 179,430 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,179,000 after acquiring an additional 12,103 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 400.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,120 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $149.57 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $142.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.86. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.39 and a 12 month high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total transaction of $454,359.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,895.85. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTFC. Stephens began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.92.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm's core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.

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