Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 122.3% during the first quarter, owning 5,761 shares worth $648,000 after acquiring additional shares.
• Wintrust Financial reported an EPS of $2.78 for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates, with a net revenue of $670.78 million, up from consensus expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, delivering an annualized yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 18.92%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 122.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,761 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 19,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the bank's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,055 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,646 shares of the bank's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 price objective (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $136.37. 452,150 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,901. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average price is $128.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.91. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Wintrust Financial Company 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.