Sanctuary Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,081 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 4,412 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted 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 buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

WTFC stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.34. The stock had a trading volume of 79,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,636. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.69. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $91.38 and a 52-week high of $142.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the business 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 firm also recently announced 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 boost from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.40%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTFC. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.69.

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.