KBC Group NV Sells 8,823 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

KBC Group NV cut its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,009 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,823 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 825.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 296 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the third 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 62.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 818 shares of the bank's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTFC shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on 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 price objective on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC stock traded up $2.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $133.68. 216,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,371. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $82.90 and a fifty-two week high of $136.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 18.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 42,311 shares in the company, valued at $4,892,420.93. This trade represents a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total value of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at $22,817,808.68. This trade represents 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 have sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314. Company 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.