Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Purchased by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 87.6%, now holding 72,973 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.80 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous $0.75 dividend, with a 2.4% yield.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Northern Trust, with price targets ranging from $101 to $132 and a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 87.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,973 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 34,079 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $7,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Northern Trust by 47.8% during 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,497,484 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $153,493,000 after purchasing an additional 562,976 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 19.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $339,711,000 after buying an additional 558,287 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,197,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 10,340.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 445,602 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $43,959,000 after buying an additional 441,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northern Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $117.08.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $129.70. 832,420 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 956,274. The company's 50 day moving average is $127.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.72. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.30. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $133.00.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

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.