Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Position Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial trimmed its stake in Wintrust by 2.1%, selling 27,377 shares and holding 1,272,857 shares (~1.90% ownership, ~$178M); institutional investors now own about 93.48% of the company.
• Wintrust posted an earnings beat with Q EPS of $3.22 vs. $2.96 expected and revenue of $713.2M (up 10.9% year‑over‑year), while the stock trades near $150 with a market cap of ~$10.15B and a P/E of 12.6.
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 (annualized $2.20, 1.5% yield; ex‑dividend May 14), and company insiders (including the COO and CFO) recently sold shares, leaving insiders with about 1.24% ownership.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,272,857 shares of the bank's stock after selling 27,377 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.90% of Wintrust Financial worth $177,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,287,000. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 33,287 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 14,776 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 17,226 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 65,833 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,205,000 after purchasing an additional 22,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.0%

WTFC stock opened at $150.46 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $142.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.86. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.39 and a 52-week high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,759,324.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total transaction of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,895.85. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm's core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.

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