Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,686 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Wintrust Financial worth $9,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 530.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 39,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,247,000 after purchasing an additional 32,926 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,782 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,767,000 after buying an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4,145.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 13,016 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1,412.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 30,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,790,000 after acquiring an additional 28,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth $499,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of WTFC opened at $97.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.85. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTFC shares. UBS Group started coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at $27,088,465.14. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.