New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $8.75 Million Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,350 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,582 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Wintrust Financial worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 106.2% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 36.1% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WTFC. StockNews.com cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.17.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of Wintrust Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at $17,599,040.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $97.59 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $58.12 and a 52-week high of $105.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.21.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $570.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.89 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.79%.

Wintrust Financial Profile

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.