MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Cuts Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lowered its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,816 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,211 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

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 shares were sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total value of $473,967.37. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,420.93. This trade represents a 8.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total transaction of $182,330.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,604.04. The trade was a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $133.45 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $89.68 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $615.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $623.45 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.00.

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.