Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,027 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,910 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 8.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 11.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 5.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 4.5 %

WTFC opened at $107.76 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.78. Wintrust Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $91.38 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.16.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $27,088,465.14. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $6,409,278.20. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTFC. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

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.