Legato Capital Management LLC Buys 869 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,955 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 869 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. 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 worth $71,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $129.99 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.29 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.19. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.92.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its 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 net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

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.