Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Bought by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation by 1,173.8% during the first quarter, now owning 26,074 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• Northern Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80, up from $0.75, representing an annualized payout of $3.20 and a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• In its latest earnings report, Northern Trust beat analysts' expectations with earnings of $2.13 per share, although revenue fell 26.4% year-over-year to $2 billion.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 1,173.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,074 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 24,027 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 10,454 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Northern Trust by 4.9% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 208,592 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $20,578,000 after purchasing an additional 9,785 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its position in Northern Trust by 168.8% in the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 140,764 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,886,000 after purchasing an additional 88,402 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $256,000. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 37,798 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,729,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northern Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $117.08.

Northern Trust Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $2.75 on Friday, hitting $130.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,014,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,058,245. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.75. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business's revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 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.