Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.87 Million Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 24.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,454 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,284 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Wintrust Financial worth $6,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 231.9% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total transaction of $74,480.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,014.88. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTFC shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Capital One Financial set a $170.00 price target on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.77.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC opened at $159.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.84. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $119.61 and a 1 year high of $167.21. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.89.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.37% and a net margin of 20.72%.The company had revenue of $738.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Wintrust Financial 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.