Benjamin Edwards Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation by 6.6%, owning 73,016 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million after selling 5,167 shares in the first quarter.
• Northern Trust recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, up from the previous $0.75, with a resulting annual yield of 2.5%.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.08, although revenue was down 26.4% year-over-year.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,016 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,167 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $7,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 363,472 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 62,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 585,992 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 150,274 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,497,484 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $153,493,000 after purchasing an additional 562,976 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.7%

Northern Trust stock opened at $125.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.62 and a 1-year high of $133.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.70.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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