Danske Bank A S Acquires 9,700 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S increased its stake in Northern Trust by 7.7% in Q4, purchasing 9,700 shares to hold 136,430 shares—about 0.07% of the company—worth roughly $18.6 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers: CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares for about $3.32 million, and insiders sold 32,705 shares (~$5.21 million) in the last three months, leaving insiders with 0.66% ownership.
• Northern Trust topped quarterly estimates (EPS $2.71 vs. $2.37 est.; revenue $2.21B vs. $2.13B), declared a $0.80 quarterly dividend ($3.20 annual, 1.9% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $163.55 price target.

Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 136,430 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S owned approximately 0.07% of Northern Trust worth $18,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,863,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 67.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,019,531 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $136,750,000 after purchasing an additional 409,434 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 400,247 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,698,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 833,167 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $112,144,000 after purchasing an additional 217,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total value of $3,321,039.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total value of $428,451.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,583.48. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $5,211,464. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.55.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $164.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $95.88 and a twelve month high of $173.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $147.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.93.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.Northern Trust's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 33.51%.

Northern Trust 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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