Insider Selling: Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) COO Sells 4,213 Shares of Stock

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

WTFC opened at $132.83 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $89.68 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTFC shares. StockNews.com cut Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated 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, Barclays raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 11,955 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,970,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth $499,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 19,806 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,470,000 after buying an additional 6,081 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.