Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Bought by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,096 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 0.06% of Wintrust Financial worth $5,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of WTFC stock traded down $4.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $124.53. The company had a trading volume of 106,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,268. 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 $91.38 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $129.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.82.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid 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 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 (DPR) is 19.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % 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 in the last 90 days. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.