Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. has reduced its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 20.8%, selling 36,189 shares for a total ownership of 137,904 shares.
• Northern Trust recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, although its quarterly revenue decreased by 26.4% year-over-year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.80 per share, reflecting a 2.49% yield and up from the previous dividend of $0.75.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,904 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 36,189 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Northern Trust worth $13,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 363,472 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,904,871 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $501,444,000 after acquiring an additional 30,908 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,885,312 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $295,744,000 after acquiring an additional 202,327 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,532,401 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $259,571,000 after purchasing an additional 39,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Northern Trust by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,201,309 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $225,641,000 after purchasing an additional 62,605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

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

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $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 P/E ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $117.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.07.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. 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 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Northern Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.58.

Northern Trust Company 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.