Richard Murphy Sells 3,291 Shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) insider Richard Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $480,650.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,725,456.45. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $147.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $155.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.81.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $586.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WTFC. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $263,940,000 after buying an additional 102,833 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $190,981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,048 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,204,000 after purchasing an additional 75,155 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 9.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,478,000 after purchasing an additional 101,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,944,000 after purchasing an additional 15,044 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Wintrust Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wintrust Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wintrust raised its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.55 (ex‑dividend and record dates set in early February), boosting the annualized payout to $2.20 and signaling confidence in capital/earnings. A higher dividend can support the share price and attract income investors. Dividend & company update
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms raised price targets and maintained buy/overweight ratings (Piper Sandler, TD Cowen, Barclays, Citi), lifting the consensus target above the current market level and supporting upside expectations. Analyst optimism can lift demand and limit downside. Analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings were mixed: Q4 EPS beat estimates ($3.15 vs. $2.93) but revenue came in well below consensus. Profitability metrics (net margin ~19.5%, ROE ~13%) remain solid, but the revenue miss could temper enthusiasm until management explains drivers. Earnings release
• Negative Sentiment: Substantial insider selling occurred on Jan. 29: EVP Kathleen Boege sold 5,000 shares (~$731.9k), director Richard Murphy sold 3,291 shares (~$480.7k), CFO David Stoehr sold 2,499 shares (~$365.3k), plus smaller EVP sales. Multiple executives trimming positions (single‑day, material percentages for some) can be perceived negatively by the market even if motivated by diversification or tax planning. TipRanks summary of insider activity SEC filing (Murphy)

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.