Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $2.98 Million Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp trimmed its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,172 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,028 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 134.6% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,302 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $275,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 596,632 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,338,000 after acquiring an additional 301,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WTFC traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $100.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 219,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,225. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Wintrust Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $58.12 and a twelve month high of $105.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.38 and a 200-day moving average of $91.33.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.47. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The company had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $117.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.