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

Fiera Capital Corp reduced its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 420,379 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,304 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $52,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTFC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC opened at $129.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.92. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $90.29 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.40%.

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.