Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $162.28 Million Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,301,192 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,062 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.96% of Wintrust Financial worth $162,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at $61,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $129.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.46. The stock has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $91.38 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

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.