Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Sold by Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 1.1%, now owning 293,913 shares valued at approximately $33.05 million.
• Insider transactions included Edward J. Wehmer purchasing 3,919 shares for around $103,265, while COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares valued at about $1.97 million.
• Wintrust Financial's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a current share price of $123.84 and a price target averaging $145.77 from several analysts.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 293,913 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,120 shares during the period. Wintrust Financial comprises about 2.4% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned 0.44% of Wintrust Financial worth $33,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 43.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 349,983 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,359,000 after buying an additional 105,754 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,426 shares of the bank's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 87.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,817,000 after buying an additional 11,719 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at about $297,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 17.3% in the first 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 period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer bought 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business's 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 $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 price objective (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $123.84 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $126.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.12. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.