Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Position Lowered by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 46.8%, selling 28,461 shares and retaining 32,410 shares valued at approximately $3.65 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Wintrust Financial, with Legato Capital Management increasing its stake by 20.2% and Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquiring a new position worth $6.28 million.
• Wintrust Financial recently reported earnings of $2.78 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.51%.

Royce & Associates LP cut its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 46.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,410 shares of the bank's stock after selling 28,461 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $3,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 349,983 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,359,000 after buying an additional 105,754 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,426 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,817,000 after buying an additional 11,719 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 20,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at $567,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WTFC. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $128.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,145. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.82. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $125.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.51.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 1.55%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 directly owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.