Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Bought by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 100% in Q1, now owning 5,960 shares valued at approximately $706,000.
• Wintrust Financial reported earnings of $2.78 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and generating a revenue of $670.78 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.53% and a dividend payout ratio of 18.92%.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 100.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,960 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $163,767,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank's stock valued at $157,613,000 after purchasing an additional 337,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,165,898 shares of the bank's stock valued at $145,443,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,098,706 shares of the bank's stock valued at $137,020,000 after purchasing an additional 29,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 897,932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $111,981,000 after purchasing an additional 320,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 target price (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped 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. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC traded down $3.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.02. 497,674 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,890. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.48.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer bought 3,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.