North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases 9,788 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board increased its Northern Trust stake by 146.6% in the third quarter, purchasing 9,788 shares and bringing its holdings to 16,466 shares valued at approximately $2.79 million.
• Institutional investors own 83.19% of Northern Trust, while insiders have sold 22,706 shares worth about $3.85 million over the past three months.
• Northern Trust beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.40 in EPS and $2.30 billion in revenue. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $183.47, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share.

North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 146.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,466 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 9,788 shares during the quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,470,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at $2,303,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth $25,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Northern Trust by 5.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 622,852 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $86,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth $11,432,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan Levy sold 3,922 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.69, for a total value of $661,602.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,016,474.82. The trade was a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,706 shares of company stock worth $3,850,282 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore set a $183.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.47.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $172.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $175.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.17. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $121.53 and a 52-week high of $195.78. The company has a market cap of $31.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.24.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The asset manager reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.53. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 27.59%.

Northern Trust Profile

Northern Trust Corporation NASDAQ: NTRS is a financial services company that provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services. The company serves institutional investors, corporations, financial institutions, high-net-worth individuals and families.

Its offerings include custody and administration of investment assets, fund accounting, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, investment management, trust and estate services, private banking and wealth planning.

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