Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,308,254 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,311 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.97% of Wintrust Financial worth $141,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 825.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 866 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total value of $182,330.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,604.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total value of $182,330.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,604.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total transaction of $473,967.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,892,420.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of WTFC opened at $128.60 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $131.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.15.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.03). Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The firm had revenue of $615.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on WTFC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Wintrust Financial Company 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.