Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Northern Trust by 6.0% to 2,378,196 shares (about 1.26% of the company) valued at roughly $320.1 million, and institutional investors now own about 83.19% of the stock.
• Northern Trust beat Q results with EPS of $2.42 vs. $2.37 and revenue of $3.15 billion (+8.4% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (annualized $3.20, ~2.2% yield).
• Wall Street has a consensus "Hold" rating and a $148.75 price target on NTRS, though several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the stock (e.g., RBC to $159/outperform, Wells Fargo to $150, Zacks to strong-buy).

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,378,196 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 133,751 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.26% of Northern Trust worth $320,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the third quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 682 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in Northern Trust by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 2.3% in the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% during the second quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,071 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Truist Financial set a $148.00 price objective on Northern Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $143.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.62 and a 12-month high of $157.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $145.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.89.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total transaction of $468,361.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,093,887.28. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $148.91 per share, with a total value of $148,910.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $496,168.12. This trade represents a 42.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,896 shares of company stock valued at $4,738,262. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Northern Trust

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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