Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $402,000 Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has acquired 4,070 shares of Northern Trust Corporation, valued at approximately $402,000, during the first quarter.
• A significant portion of Northern Trust's stock is held by institutional investors, with 83.19% ownership reported.
• Northern Trust has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, boosting it from $0.75 to $0.80, yielding 2.4% annually.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,070 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $119.58.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.27. 1,221,418 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,238. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.08. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $133.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $4.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.25%.

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.