Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 19,026 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 11.7%, acquiring an additional 19,026 shares, bringing its total holdings to 182,289 shares valued at approximately $23.1 million.
• Northern Trust recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, up from the previous $0.75, reflecting a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 37.60%.
• In the latest quarterly earnings report, Northern Trust beat analysts' expectations with $2.13 EPS, surpassing estimates of $2.08, despite experiencing a 26.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,289 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 19,026 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.09% of Northern Trust worth $23,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $178,637,000 after purchasing an additional 585,992 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $339,711,000 after purchasing an additional 558,287 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $41,905,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $41,834,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 529.4% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 461,383 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $45,515,000 after purchasing an additional 388,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $127.03 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $135.48. The stock has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.45 and a 200 day moving average of $116.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.34 EPS. Northern Trust's revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 37.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTRS. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.23.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.