Comerica Bank Reduces Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Comerica Bank cut its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,279 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 27,628 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $4,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $149.57 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $113.39 and a 12-month high of $162.96. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $142.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.55.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. Wintrust Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTFC shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.92.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $1,425,546.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total transaction of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,895.85. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.