BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 49.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,687 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,640 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,754,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,619,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,652,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 56,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,098 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $152.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "above average" rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.77.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $118.21. The company had a trading volume of 190,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,324. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.97.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.17. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.78%.

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.