Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,852 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 11,420 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $11,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 75.3% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth $41,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC opened at $138.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.71. 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 $162.96. The stock has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $714.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued 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 yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,152.21. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,613.54. This trade represents a 17.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,730. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WTFC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.31.

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.