Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Stake Cut by Focus Partners Wealth

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth reduced its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 12.6%, selling 2,685 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 18,582 shares valued at approximately $1.83 million.
• The company recently announced a dividend increase from $0.75 to $0.80 per share, with a new annualized dividend yield of 2.5%, reflecting a 37.60% payout ratio.
• Northern Trust reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the analyst expectation of $2.08, despite a 26.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Focus Partners Wealth decreased its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,582 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,685 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Northern Trust by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 363,472 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $339,711,000 after purchasing an additional 558,287 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,013,123 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $297,245,000 after acquiring an additional 20,010 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $178,637,000 after buying an additional 585,992 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,727,365 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $177,055,000 after purchasing an additional 150,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NTRS traded down $0.29 on Friday, hitting $131.93. 581,865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,523,184. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.19. The company has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $133.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.34 EPS. The company's revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $119.58.

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.