Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 1,273,042 shares worth about $178.0 million.
• Wintrust Financial reported strong first-quarter earnings, posting $3.22 EPS versus the $2.96 estimate and revenue of $713.17 million, with revenue up 10.9% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, while analysts currently rate WTFC a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $168.92.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,273,042 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 16,997 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.90% of Wintrust Financial worth $178,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 3.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,718,000 after acquiring an additional 11,644 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 5.4% in the third 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. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 27.1% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 572,816 shares of the bank's stock worth $75,864,000 after acquiring an additional 122,221 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $14,094,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 15.1% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 86,852 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,503,000 after acquiring an additional 11,420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $148.02 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $146.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.84. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $116.57 and a 12 month high of $162.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTFC. Stephens began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $1,425,546.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,759,324.20. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total transaction of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,303 shares in the company, valued at $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386 in the last ninety days. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Wintrust Financial

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.