Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,651 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,196 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial accounts for 2.6% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Wintrust Financial worth $13,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $132.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.07 and a 200-day moving average of $117.31. The company has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.20. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $89.68 and a one year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 17.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price 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. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.