Cwm LLC Increases Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Cwm LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust (NTRS) by 122.6% in Q4 to 48,284 shares, valued at about $6.595 million.
• Other institutions also boosted or opened large positions—AQR to 1,019,531 shares, Barclays to 1,042,084 shares and Jupiter with a new ~$64.9M stake—leaving 83.19% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analysts show an average rating of Hold with a consensus target of $154.55, although several firms raised targets (e.g., TD Cowen $175, Evercore $155).

Cwm LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 122.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,284 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 26,594 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,863,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northern Trust by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,019,531 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $136,750,000 after purchasing an additional 409,434 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,042,084 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $140,265,000 after buying an additional 400,247 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,698,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Northern Trust by 35.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 833,167 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $112,144,000 after acquiring an additional 217,305 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Richard Petrino acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $496,168.12. This trade represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total transaction of $468,361.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,093,887.28. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,714. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.1%

NTRS stock opened at $158.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $143.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.93. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $85.72 and a 12 month high of $161.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation NASDAQ: NTRS is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company's core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust's product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.

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