Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 18,780 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,712 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,780 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.18% of Wintrust Financial worth $14,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $94,906,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 261.4% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank's stock valued at $87,126,000 after acquiring an additional 505,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $40,562,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 865,409 shares of the bank's stock worth $107,925,000 after acquiring an additional 253,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank's stock valued at $141,981,000 after purchasing an additional 133,311 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of WTFC traded up $3.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $104.91. 191,821 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,381. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.45 and a 200-day moving average of $121.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.17. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. The firm had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.11 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.40%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Wintrust Financial from $155.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.38.

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.