Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 48,537 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 382,610 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 48,537 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.58% of Wintrust Financial worth $47,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 920.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $96.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $120.32 and its 200 day moving average is $122.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.94. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

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.