45,532 Shares in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 45,532 Northern Trust shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $7.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.19% of NTRS stock.
• Northern Trust reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.23 per share—well above the $2.71 consensus estimate—and revenue of $2.71 billion, up 35.1% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.80 to $0.88 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $3.52 and a 1.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $180.68.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 45,532 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,915,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 39.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 79.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,453 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NTRS. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group set a $186.00 price target on Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research lowered Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.68.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $186.79 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.86 and a 200-day moving average of $164.62. The company has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $121.12 and a 1 year high of $195.78.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $1.52. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 16.91%. Northern Trust's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation NASDAQ: NTRS is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company's core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust's product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.

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