ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Purchases New Shares in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 49,791 shares of Northern Trust Corporation, valued at approximately $4.9 million, in the first quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the asset manager's stock.
• Northern Trust recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, beating analyst estimates, although its revenue decreased by 26.4% year-over-year.
• The company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80, reflecting a positive change and an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 49,791 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,911,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 363,472 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,885,312 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $295,744,000 after purchasing an additional 202,327 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,201,309 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $225,641,000 after acquiring an additional 62,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 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 worth $178,637,000 after acquiring an additional 585,992 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,727,365 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $177,055,000 after acquiring an additional 150,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.7%

NTRS opened at $124.73 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $81.62 and a fifty-two week high of $133.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $121.04 and a 200-day moving average of $108.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.34 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.58.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.

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