Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 26% in the fourth quarter, adding 10,524 shares and bringing its total holding to 50,940 shares valued at about $6.96 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and 83.19% of Northern Trust shares are owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Northern Trust reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.71 beating estimates and revenue of $2.21 billion topping forecasts, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $163.55 target price.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,940 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 10,524 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Northern Trust by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,285,236,000 after acquiring an additional 97,584 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Northern Trust by 6.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,378,196 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $320,092,000 after acquiring an additional 133,751 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $262,128,000 after acquiring an additional 40,048 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Northern Trust by 4.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,924,707 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $259,066,000 after acquiring an additional 88,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Northern Trust by 3.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,414,595 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $190,404,000 after acquiring an additional 48,417 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $166.41 per share, with a total value of $37,442.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,355,409.45. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $5,211,464 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.55.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $160.41 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $148.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.76. The company has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $100.01 and a 1 year high of $173.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 33.51%.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation NASDAQ: NTRS is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company's core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust's product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.

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