Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Acquired by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 30.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,015 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTFC. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,622 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth $252,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth $40,562,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 28,525 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 111,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,962,000 after buying an additional 30,213 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 182,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $122.55 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTFC. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.77.

About Wintrust Financial

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.