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

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Northern Trust stake by 1.5% in the first quarter, adding 36,322 shares and bringing its holdings to 2.46 million shares worth about $342.7 million.
• Northern Trust reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.71 versus the $2.37 consensus and revenue of $2.21 billion, up 13.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: despite several target-price increases, Northern Trust’s current consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $178.75.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,455,996 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 36,322 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.33% of Northern Trust worth $342,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $185.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $118.99 and a 52-week high of $191.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $173.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,409.45. This trade represents a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.75.

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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