Earnest Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,313,186 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $163,767,000. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 1.98% of Wintrust Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,971 shares of the bank's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 17,855 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,227,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WTFC. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $152.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reduced their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reissued an "above average" rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This trade represents 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 three months. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $110.79 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average price is $110.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.70.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.