GW&K Investment Management LLC Has $57.50 Million Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management trimmed its Wintrust Financial stake by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, but still held 411,213 shares valued at about $57.5 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on WTFC, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $168.92. Recent target hikes from firms like RBC, Citigroup, and TD Cowen helped reinforce that outlook.
• Wintrust reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.22 versus expectations of $2.96 and revenue of $713.17 million, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share.

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 411,213 shares of the bank's stock after selling 85,581 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 0.61% of Wintrust Financial worth $57,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,599 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,718,000 after purchasing an additional 11,644 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank's stock valued at $263,940,000 after buying an additional 102,833 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 27.1% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 572,816 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,864,000 after buying an additional 122,221 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,094,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 15.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 objective for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.92.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,759,324.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 3,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,014.88. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $155.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.66 and a 200-day moving average of $144.72. The stock has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.84. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $116.57 and a 52-week high of $162.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The business had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $707.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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