Groupe la Francaise Trims Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise cut its Northern Trust stake by 26.9% in the second quarter, selling 15,226 shares and retaining 41,394 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company.
• Northern Trust reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.23 versus the $2.71 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.71 billion, up 35.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $180.68, while Northern Trust raised its quarterly dividend from $0.80 to $0.88 per share, producing a 1.9% yield.

Groupe la Francaise decreased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 26.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,394 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,226 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $7,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. NBH Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. bought 255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,388. The trade was a 3.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas South sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $186.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.11 and a 200 day moving average of $166.26. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $121.12 and a 52 week high of $195.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is presently 30.21%.

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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