Mount Lucas Management LP Acquires New Position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,180 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $906,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Northern Trust by 47.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 585,992 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 84,974 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,383,000 after purchasing an additional 6,570 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 529.4% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 461,383 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $45,515,000 after purchasing an additional 388,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 96.7% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,158,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,366. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $80.81 and a 52 week high of $133.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $117.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.04.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 37.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NTRS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northern Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.58.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,772 shares of company stock worth $981,069. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.