Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 470,458 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,928 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $65,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $263,940,000 after purchasing an additional 102,833 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $190,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,048 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 75,155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 15,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 745,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $98,793,000 after purchasing an additional 19,726 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTFC. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.92.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $149.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.99. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $114.73 and a 12 month high of $162.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.86.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was 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 $26,759,324.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total value of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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.