Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 3,921 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,940,000 after buying an additional 102,833 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $190,981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,048 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $172,204,000 after purchasing an additional 75,155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $141,944,000 after buying an additional 15,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,020,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,176,000 after buying an additional 83,826 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total transaction of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,987,895.85. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $144.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.06. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.86. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. Wintrust Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WTFC. Stephens started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.92.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.