Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) is Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's Largest Position

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC reduced its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,651 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,196 shares during the period. Wintrust Financial accounts for about 2.6% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Wintrust Financial worth $13,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded down $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.81. 321,005 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 463,057. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.68 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.72. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.20.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTFC. Citigroup raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,088,465.14. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

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.