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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 30.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,015 shares of the bank's stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 101.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 40,299 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,532,000 after purchasing an additional 20,314 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 9.2% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,654 shares of the bank's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 87.3% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,959 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,454,000 after purchasing an additional 43,323 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth about $473,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer bought 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ WTFC traded up $1.04 on Friday, hitting $123.84. 215,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,807. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.03.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

About Wintrust Financial

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.