Edgestream Partners L.P. Trims Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,098 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 15,529 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $344,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth $40,562,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth $10,114,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,926 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTFC shares. 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. Barclays increased 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. StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $108.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.16. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $91.38 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

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.