Clearbridge Investments LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 41.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 865,409 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 253,050 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 1.30% of Wintrust Financial worth $107,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 920.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 684 shares of the bank's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WTFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC traded down $14.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $99.91. 740,324 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,193. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.69 and a 200-day moving average of $122.48. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $91.38 and a 12-month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 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 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 valued at $1,336,315 in the last quarter. 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.