Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,986 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew 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 purchasing an additional 11,719 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $567,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,790 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,969,000 after buying an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,926 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 2,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Wintrust Financial stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.89. 398,630 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,496. 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 twelve month low of $89.10 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.39 and a 200-day moving average of $119.87.

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

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is 19.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTFC. Stephens dropped 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. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $143.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $152.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.77.

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.