LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 151.7%, owning 40,220 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Wintrust Financial recently posted quarterly earnings that beat analyst estimates with an EPS of $2.78 and reported revenue of $670.78 million, compared to the predicted $661.43 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%, with the dividend payable on August 21st.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 151.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,220 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 24,240 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Wintrust Financial worth $4,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth $163,767,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised 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 buying an additional 337,763 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised 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 buying an additional 320,954 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 807,390 shares of the bank's stock worth $90,799,000 after purchasing an additional 280,568 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 709,182 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,442,000 after purchasing an additional 119,416 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.4%

WTFC stock opened at $127.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.81 and a 200-day moving average of $119.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a one year low of $89.10 and a one year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million during 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTFC. Truist Financial increased their price objective 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. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.77.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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