Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 406,692 shares of the bank's stock after selling 30,336 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.61% of Wintrust Financial worth $50,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock traded down $2.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $121.83. 416,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 434,773. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $91.38 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.19. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $128.63 and its 200 day moving average is $121.38.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at $27,088,465.14. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 over the last 90 days. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.