Vest Financial LLC Raises Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,806 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 6,081 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 48,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the firm's 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.99. 395,800 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,093. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.19. The business's fifty day moving average price is $129.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $90.29 and a twelve month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS 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 earned $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

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.