Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 323 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,676 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 28,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 24,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,682,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total transaction of $473,967.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,892,420.93. This trade represents a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total value of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 197,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,817,808.68. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $131.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.81. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.20. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $89.68 and a one 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.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share 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 last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.46%.

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.