Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 5,478 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 18.6%, owning approximately 34,953 shares valued at about $3.93 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Numerous institutional investors, including HighTower Advisors LLC and Nuveen LLC, have also adjusted their stakes in Wintrust Financial, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Wintrust Financial's stock has seen a recent increase of 4.1%, with analysts providing optimistic target price revisions and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,953 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 5,478 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Wintrust Financial worth $3,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $157.00 price target (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $138.16. The company had a trading volume of 529,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,886. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.09. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

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.