Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 182,698 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 780,275 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 182,698 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $103,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $87,418,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 417.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,116,000 after purchasing an additional 408,925 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,085,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,002,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,478,000 after buying an additional 101,134 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $145.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a one year low of $89.10 and a one year high of $162.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WTFC. Barclays upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.31.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $45,665.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,152.21. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total transaction of $731,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,613.54. The trade was a 17.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.