IFM Investors Pty Ltd Decreases Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd has reduced its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 13.0%, selling 5,738 shares resulting in a holding of 38,366 shares worth approximately $4.86 million.
• Northern Trust has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80 per share, representing a 2.4% yield based on an annualized rate of $3.20.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed a revenue decline of 26.4% year-over-year, but it still beat analysts' profit expectations with earnings of $2.13 per share.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,366 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,738 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 47.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $178,637,000 after purchasing an additional 585,992 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $339,711,000 after acquiring an additional 558,287 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 10,340.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 445,602 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $43,959,000 after purchasing an additional 441,334 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the first quarter worth $41,905,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the first quarter valued at $41,834,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $131.78. 796,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,100,199. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.33 and a 200 day moving average of $112.49. The stock has a market cap of $25.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.30. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.62 and a twelve month high of $133.00.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 37.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. 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 note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $119.58.

Northern Trust Profile

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.