Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Shares Bought by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 41.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,310 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,940 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 231.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 229 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $149.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.86. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $114.73 and a 52 week high of $162.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total value of $454,359.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,987,895.85. The trade was a 18.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.