Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 34,587 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 1,678.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,648 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 34,587 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $3,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Northern Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,065 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Northern Trust by 1.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,876 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 11.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total transaction of $650,709.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 79,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069 in the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Northern Trust stock traded down $3.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $126.56. The company had a trading volume of 513,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,749. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $119.11 and a 200-day moving average of $107.86. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $80.81 and a 52 week high of $133.00.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 2.5%. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.58.

Northern Trust 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.