US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 101.6%, owning a total of 40,299 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million after acquiring 20,314 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Wintrust Financial, with estimates now ranging from $115.00 to $162.00, indicating a generally positive outlook with ten analysts rating it a buy and three rating it as hold.
• Wintrust Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annual yield of 1.6%, to be paid on August 21st to shareholders of record as of August 7th.

US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 101.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,299 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 20,314 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.06% of Wintrust Financial worth $4,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 43.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 349,983 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,359,000 after purchasing an additional 105,754 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 87.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 11,719 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 17.3% during the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 20,231 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $567,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.84. 215,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,807. The company has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.30 and a 200 day moving average of $120.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The company had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Hovde Group boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens reduced their target price on Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.77.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

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