Drive Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Drive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,631 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTFC. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 539.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 594,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,881,000 after acquiring an additional 501,669 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,769,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 53.3% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 807,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,799,000 after acquiring an additional 280,568 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 20.2% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 852,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,881,000 after acquiring an additional 143,401 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 591.9% during the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 137,664 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,068,000 after acquiring an additional 117,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WTFC. Cowen began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $166.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.92.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.3%

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $129.41 on Wednesday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $132.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.17.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The bank reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $697.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $689.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Wintrust Financial 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.