Board of the Pension Protection Fund Acquires New Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• The Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Northern Trust Corporation, purchasing 14,700 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million, making it the fund's 3rd largest holding.
• Several analysts have recently expressed optimistic outlooks for Northern Trust, with target prices ranging from $123.00 to $142.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Northern Trust has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with a resulting annualized yield of 2.6%.

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 14,700 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,864,000. Northern Trust makes up approximately 2.0% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 320 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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 bought 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $319,008.50. This represents a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $124.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.31. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $135.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $129.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.72.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.60%.

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.