Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 2.9%, owning approximately 473,324 shares valued at $46.66 million, as disclosed in a recent SEC filing.
• Northern Trust recently announced a quarterly dividend payment of $0.80, up from $0.75, equating to a 2.5% dividend yield and an annualized payout of $3.20.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for Northern Trust, with Evercore ISI raising it from $108.00 to $121.00 and Royal Bank of Canada setting a target of $123.00, reflecting positive growth expectations.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 473,324 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 13,229 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.24% of Northern Trust worth $46,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 98,503 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,097,000 after acquiring an additional 11,854 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,456,000. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $383,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 8,290 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $126.02. 787,506 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,404,009. The firm has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $81.62 and a 52 week high of $133.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $123.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 37.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.08.

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.