Fiera Capital Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Fiera Capital Corp lowered its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,379 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,304 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.63% of Wintrust Financial worth $52,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 387.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,809 shares of the bank’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 17,416 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 2,375 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $129.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.92. 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 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 $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 over the last ninety days. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.