Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock Holdings Decreased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 586,057 shares of the bank's stock after selling 66,553 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.88% of Wintrust Financial worth $73,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised 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 lowered shares of Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 19,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $115.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 388,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,876. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $91.38 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The stock's 50-day moving average is $128.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.40%.

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.