National Pension Service Buys 5,865 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 1.7% to 343,394 shares, worth approximately $33.88 million, as per its latest SEC filing.
• Northern Trust recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80, marking an annualized yield of 2.5% with a payout ratio of 35.25%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Northern Trust, with target prices ranging from $101.00 to $136.00, reflecting a consensus average rating of "Hold."

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,394 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 5,865 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Northern Trust worth $33,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,008.50. This represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $0.0650 on Wednesday, hitting $127.4250. The company had a trading volume of 313,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,174. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $133.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.13 and a 200-day moving average of $109.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $117.08.

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.