AlphaQuest LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC more than doubled its stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 109.6% to 24,201 shares worth about $3.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: several firms lifted price targets, but the overall analyst consensus is still "Hold" with an average target of $164.08.
• Northern Trust posted a solid quarter, with EPS of $2.71 beating estimates and revenue of $2.21 billion topping expectations; the company also declared a $0.80 quarterly dividend payable July 1.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 109.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,201 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 12,657 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $3,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRS. Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Trust from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $153.50 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total value of $3,321,039.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. This trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,409.45. This represents a 2.84% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,514 shares of company stock valued at $4,890,937 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock opened at $167.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $31.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.92. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $173.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 33.51%.

About Northern Trust

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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