Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $25.29 Million Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Granite Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,964 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 83,015 shares during the period. Wintrust Financial comprises 1.4% of Granite Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.29% of Wintrust Financial worth $25,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 46,049 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,947 shares in the company, valued at $283,152.21. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $156.30 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.77 and a 200 day moving average of $137.47. The company has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.88. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $162.96. 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 (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $714.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTFC. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.