Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,771 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,532 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,545 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,028,000 after buying an additional 48,214 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 61.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 32,210 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,432,000 after buying an additional 12,243 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 24.6% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 344,631 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,020,000 after buying an additional 68,042 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 25.6% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 576,427 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,860,000 after buying an additional 117,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 13.4% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 644,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,549,000 after purchasing an additional 75,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $333,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $333,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 177,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

WTFC traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.39. The company had a trading volume of 308,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,497. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $58.12 and a 52 week high of $105.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $97.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.18.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.55). Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The company had revenue of $570.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.89 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is 18.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.17.

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.