Citigroup Inc. Sells 53,456 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 47%, currently holding 60,362 shares valued at approximately $6.79 million.
• Insider trading activity included COO David A. Dykstra selling 14,942 shares, while Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial.
• Wintrust Financial reported better-than-expected earnings, with $2.78 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' forecasts of $2.59.

Citigroup Inc. cut its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 47.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,362 shares of the bank's stock after selling 53,456 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.09% of Wintrust Financial worth $6,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 349,983 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,359,000 after purchasing an additional 105,754 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,426 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $297,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,663 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 11,719 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $128.83. The company had a trading volume of 321,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,480. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.85. 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 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $127.14 and its 200-day moving average is $119.81.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $670.78 million during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note 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 upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $157.00 price target (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial 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.