CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Boosts Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 137.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,380 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 82,918 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.22% of Wintrust Financial worth $17,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,971 shares of the bank's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of WTFC traded up $3.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.38. 485,013 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 417,858. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $111.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.54.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $643.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTFC. StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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.