Sapience Investments LLC Reduces Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Sapience Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,108 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,960 shares during the period. Wintrust Financial makes up 2.3% of Sapience Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sapience Investments LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $4,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,767,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,906,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 261.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,126,000 after purchasing an additional 505,293 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,754,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,613,000 after purchasing an additional 337,763 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $122.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.81. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WTFC. Raymond James set a $143.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an “above average” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.54.

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.