MetLife Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,454 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 3,113 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Wintrust Financial worth $4,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 81,737 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,748 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 16.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,479 shares of the bank's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,656 shares of the bank's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,782 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,562 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 286,341 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,076,000 after acquiring an additional 16,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of WTFC opened at $111.38 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.57. The firm has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $643.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % 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 worth $1,336,315 in the last ninety days. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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