Legato Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. 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 filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $129.99 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $90.29 and a one year high of $142.04. The stock 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.92.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.87 EPS. Equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. This is a positive change 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 Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 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 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.