abrdn plc Raises Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 379,407 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 65,092 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.57% of Wintrust Financial worth $47,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $593,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 12.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,018,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 29.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,204 shares of the bank's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 26.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,623 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.04. The stock had a trading volume of 293,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50 day moving average is $130.07 and its 200 day moving average is $118.46. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $90.29 and a one year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

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.