Inceptionr LLC Invests $344,000 in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,758 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

WTFC opened at $112.86 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $91.38 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.75.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up previously 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 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

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.