Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) is Phocas Financial Corp.'s 5th Largest Position

Phocas Financial Corp. cut its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 85.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,390 shares of the bank's stock after selling 109,851 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial makes up about 1.8% of Phocas Financial Corp.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Phocas Financial Corp.'s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WTFC shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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 boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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, 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 stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,752.56. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $124.47. 439,188 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,238. The company's fifty day moving average is $128.69 and its 200-day moving average is $120.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.19. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $91.38 and a 52 week high of $142.04.

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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 19.40%.

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.