Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock Position Boosted by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 70.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,772 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% in the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock traded down $1.60 on Thursday, hitting $122.92. 128,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 447,387. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, 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 value of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTFC. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.77.

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.