Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 21,068 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors cut its stake in Wintrust by 71.7%, selling 21,068 shares in Q4 and leaving 8,300 shares valued at $1.161M, even as institutional investors still own about 93.48% of the stock.
• Wintrust reported a quarterly EPS beat of $3.22 vs. $2.96 and revenue of $713.2M (up 10.9% year-over-year), and announced a $0.55 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.20, ~1.5% yield).
• Analysts are generally positive (average rating "Moderate Buy" with a $168.92 target), while insiders have sold 14,368 shares worth ~$2.11M in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with about 1.24% ownership.

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 71.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,300 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,068 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank's stock worth $263,940,000 after acquiring an additional 102,833 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank's stock worth $190,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,048 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,204,000 after acquiring an additional 75,155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank's stock worth $141,944,000 after acquiring an additional 15,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,020,660 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,176,000 after acquiring an additional 83,826 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total value of $731,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,349,613.54. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $480,650.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,725,456.45. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,368 shares of company stock valued at $2,114,424. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTFC shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.92.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $149.24 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.50 and a 200 day moving average of $140.25. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $109.46 and a 52 week high of $162.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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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