Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,713 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,941 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.13% of Wintrust Financial worth $9,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WTFC. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 866 shares of the bank's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 28,928 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 24,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,682,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,304 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total transaction of $473,967.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,420.93. This trade represents a 8.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total transaction of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,817,808.68. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,198 shares of company stock valued at $2,445,314. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $132.25. 313,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 387,254. The stock has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.13. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $82.90 and a 1 year high of $136.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $615.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $623.45 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. Wintrust Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.53 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

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.