Argent Trust Co Acquires New Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has invested approximately $229,000 in Wintrust Financial Corporation, acquiring 2,034 shares during the first quarter.
• Wintrust Financial recently reported earnings of $2.78 EPS, exceeding expectations, with $670.78 million in revenue for the quarter.
• After recent transactions, institutional investors own 93.48% of Wintrust Financial's stock, highlighting significant investor confidence in the company.

Argent Trust Co acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,034 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $123.84. The company had a trading volume of 215,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,807. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $126.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.21. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services.