Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,048,816 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 106,263 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $130,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 920.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $114.57 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.48. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.16. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $91.38 and a one year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 research report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at $27,088,465.14. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. 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.