Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Position Lowered by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 12.9%, now holding 24,110 shares worth approximately $2.38 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Northern Trust, with two "Buy", eight "Hold", and three "Sell" ratings, along with price targets ranging from $101 to $136.
• Northern Trust recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80 per share, indicating a strong payout ratio of 35.25% and an annualized yield of 2.5%.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,110 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,580 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5,340.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $117.08.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.5%

NTRS stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $130.93. 360,962 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,560,584. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. 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 price of $126.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.17. The company has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.