Norris Perne & French LLP MI Sells 2,057 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lowered its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,405 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,057 shares during the quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $593,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 160.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 67,806 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 41,722 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth $613,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 12.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 135.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,093 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

WTFC stock traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $128.98. 179,789 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 482,787. 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's fifty day moving average price is $130.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.91. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $89.68 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on WTFC shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

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.