800,487 Shares in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 800,487 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $111,924,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $90,187,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,287,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 172.4% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 238,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,549,000 after purchasing an additional 150,768 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 744.8% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 139,139 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,454,000 after purchasing an additional 122,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 27.1% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 572,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,864,000 after purchasing an additional 122,221 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC opened at $152.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.13. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $116.57 and a 1 year high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,759,324.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total transaction of $454,359.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,895.85. This represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Company 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.