David L. Stoehr Sells 2,363 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $131.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.20. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $89.68 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $131.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.51.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group assumed 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 on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Shaker Investments LLC OH increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 28,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,140,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,307,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.