New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,073 Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,073 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 183.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,106,000 after buying an additional 31,008 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 55,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 worth $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 15,185 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.16. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $91.38 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.54.

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 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

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.