Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 382,610 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 48,537 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $47,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 530.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 39,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,247,000 after acquiring an additional 32,926 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 6.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,782 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,562 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $285,169,000 after purchasing an additional 126,724 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 708.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 15,185 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 4,145.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,662,000 after buying an additional 13,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value 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. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 3.6 %

WTFC stock opened at $96.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.35.

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

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

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.