Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC significantly increased its position in Wintrust Financial, growing its holdings by 87.3% to approximately $10.5 million in the first quarter.
• Analysts have expressed a positive outlook, with several price targets raised; Royal Bank of Canada set a new target of $158.00, reflecting an overall average target of $145.77 for the stock.
• Wintrust Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 87.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,959 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 43,323 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Wintrust Financial worth $10,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 33.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $1.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $123.04. 158,963 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 447,445. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.15 and a 200-day moving average of $120.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $157.00 target price (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. This 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 corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Profile

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.