Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $6.34 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, now owning 64,248 shares valued at approximately $6.34 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Invesco Ltd, have significantly increased their stakes in Northern Trust, reflecting a strong institutional interest with 83.19% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Northern Trust recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.80 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous dividend and a yield of 2.4%, to be paid on October 1st.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,248 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,688 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ellevest Inc. increased its position in Northern Trust by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Northern Trust by 1.8% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,666 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Northern Trust by 0.5% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,065 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,876 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 11.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.28. The stock had a trading volume of 852,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 998,324. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $127.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.45. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $81.62 and a 52 week high of $133.00.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. Northern Trust's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Wolfe Research raised Northern Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $118.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target 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.