Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock Position Cut by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,253 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,774 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 19,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,971 shares of the bank's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 17,855 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,227,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,599 shares of the bank's stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $143.00 price target on Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.77.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $120.38 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $115.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.82.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $643.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 17.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 19.78%.

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.

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