Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,027 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,910 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last 90 days. 1.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ WTFC traded down $2.01 on Thursday, hitting $107.76. The company had a trading volume of 405,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,134. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day moving average price is $126.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.70. 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 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is 19.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WTFC shares. Truist Financial raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.69.

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.