Legal & General Group Plc Has $184.65 Million Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Northern Trust stake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1,351,836 shares valued at about $184.65 million.
• Northern Trust reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $2.71 topping estimates of $2.37 and revenue of $2.21 billion also exceeding forecasts; revenue rose 13.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share payable July 1, implying an annualized dividend of $3.20 and a yield of about 1.9%.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,351,836 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 62,759 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.71% of Northern Trust worth $184,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 48,284 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 26,594 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $262,128,000 after buying an additional 40,048 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,253,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 28,939 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,895,000 after buying an additional 15,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,042,084 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $140,265,000 after buying an additional 400,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $167.94 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.49. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $104.99 and a 1 year high of $173.18. The company has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.08.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,583.48. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,064 shares of company stock worth $4,682,064 over the last quarter. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Northern Trust

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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