Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 12,337 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Wintrust Financial by 19.5%, owning 50,835 shares valued at approximately $5.72 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for Wintrust Financial, with Truist Financial increasing its target from $137.00 to $151.00, contributing to a consensus price target of $147.31.
• Wintrust Financial reported better-than-expected earnings with a EPS of $2.78, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.19, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share recently paid to shareholders.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,835 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,337 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Wintrust Financial worth $5,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of 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. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.31.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ WTFC traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $137.91. 352,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,355. The firm has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick 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.

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. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

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.