Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $5.44 Million Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 94.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,682 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 28,521 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Wintrust Financial worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 365 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 663 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.31. The stock had a trading volume of 384,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,738. The business's fifty day moving average is $98.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.21. Wintrust Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $58.12 and a twelve month high of $105.29.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.47. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 17.86%. The business had revenue of $604.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Wintrust Financial's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 9.95 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 18.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WTFC shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $112.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total value of $943,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at $17,599,040.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total value of $943,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

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.