Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $5.44 Million Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 94.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,682 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,521 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $5,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 2,131.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,855,000 after acquiring an additional 70,601 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 61.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 32,210 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,432,000 after purchasing an additional 12,243 shares during the period. abrdn plc raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 24.6% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 344,631 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,042 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 13.4% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 644,050 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,549,000 after purchasing an additional 75,994 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $476,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total value of $57,553.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total value of $943,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at $17,599,040.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

WTFC opened at $97.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.12 and a fifty-two week high of $105.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $98.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.21.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.80 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 13.09%. Wintrust Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.92.

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.