Erste Asset Management GmbH Decreases Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 20.1%, owning 58,200 shares valued at approximately $5.65 million after selling 14,600 shares in the first quarter.
• Northern Trust recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a 26.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company has announced a dividend increase to $0.80 per share, up from $0.75, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,200 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 14,600 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $5,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 47.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $178,637,000 after purchasing an additional 585,992 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 363,472 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 84,974 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,383,000 after acquiring an additional 6,570 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 529.4% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 461,383 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $45,515,000 after acquiring an additional 388,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 96.7% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $127.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.62 and a 1-year high of $133.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $124.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The firm's revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 35.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $117.08.

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.

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