Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $36.31 Million Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers cut its stake in Wintrust by 31.4% in Q4 to 257,271 shares, worth about $36.31 million, making it the firm's 11th-largest holding.
• Wintrust beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $3.22 vs. $2.96 expected and revenue of $713.17M, while analysts have raised targets and the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of about $168.92.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 ($2.20 annualized, ~1.4% yield; ex-dividend May 14), and insiders sold a total of 13,099 shares (~$1.95M) in the past 90 days.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 257,271 shares of the bank's stock after selling 117,723 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial comprises approximately 2.1% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned about 0.38% of Wintrust Financial worth $36,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 6.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,204,000 after buying an additional 75,155 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 73,013.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 42,406 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 42,348 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 417.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,116,000 after purchasing an additional 408,925 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.0% in 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. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank's stock valued at $263,940,000 after purchasing an additional 102,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total value of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $492,014.88. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $153.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $113.75 and a 12-month high of $162.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.09.

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

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $188.00 target price (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.92.

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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