Channing Capital Management LLC Sells 42,216 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Channing Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 797,270 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 42,216 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial comprises approximately 2.7% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $99,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,153,999 shares of the bank’s stock worth $559,364,000 after purchasing an additional 637,072 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $40,562,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,841 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,132,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,981,000 after acquiring an additional 133,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,169,000 after acquiring an additional 126,724 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WTFC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $107.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Wintrust Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $91.38 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $127.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.78.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

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.