American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 4.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 536,808 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,887 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $71,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 75.3% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.31.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC stock opened at $145.35 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.63 and a 200-day moving average of $138.61. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $714.26 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost 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 currently 19.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. 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 transaction of $480,650.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total value of $45,665.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,947 shares in the company, valued at $283,152.21. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial Profile

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.