Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Wintrust Financial by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 99,742 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Wintrust Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.22 versus $2.96 expected and revenue of $713.17 million, up 10.9% year over year.
• The bank also returned capital to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $168.92.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,742 shares of the bank's stock after selling 25,458 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.15% of Wintrust Financial worth $13,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank's stock worth $190,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,048 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank's stock worth $141,944,000 after acquiring an additional 15,044 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 745,948 shares of the bank's stock worth $98,793,000 after acquiring an additional 19,726 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,187,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $150.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $145.60 and a 200-day moving average of $143.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.84. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $116.57 and a 1-year high of $162.96.

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

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total value of $454,359.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,895.85. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented 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 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.92.

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.

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