Insider Selling: Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Insider Sells 3,186 Shares of Stock

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This trade represents 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 hyperlink.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $132.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.41. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $89.68 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 17.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% 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.