Czech National Bank Increases Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation by 5.6%, owning 47,552 shares valued at approximately $6 million.
• A number of institutional investors have made significant changes to their stakes in Northern Trust, contributing to the company being over 83% owned by such investors and hedge funds.
• Northern Trust recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80 per share, indicating a 2.4% dividend yield.

Czech National Bank raised its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,552 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.9% in 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $339,711,000 after purchasing an additional 558,287 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,013,123 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $297,245,000 after purchasing an additional 20,010 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $178,637,000 after purchasing an additional 585,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,727,365 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $177,055,000 after purchasing an additional 150,274 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.50. 2,960,636 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,002,896. The stock has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 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. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $128.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.38. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $81.62 and a fifty-two week high of $133.00.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.05. The company 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%.Northern Trust's revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $119.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,008.50. This represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.