Royce & Associates LP Sells 22,842 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,871 shares of the bank's stock after selling 22,842 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.09% of Wintrust Financial worth $7,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTFC. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 14.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,153,999 shares of the bank's stock valued at $559,364,000 after purchasing an additional 637,072 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $40,562,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,841 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,132,000 after buying an additional 213,559 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank's stock worth $141,981,000 after acquiring an additional 133,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,169,000 after acquiring an additional 126,724 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $113.45. 1,753,983 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,630. The stock's fifty day moving average is $124.72 and its 200-day moving average is $121.83. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $91.38 and a 12 month high of $142.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.16.

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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group initiated 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. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the company'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 owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $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 a total of 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.