Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation by 31.5%, selling 471,789 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 1,025,695 shares valued at $101.2 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Northern Trust, with Allianz Asset Management making a significant boost of 529.4% in their holdings during the same quarter.
• Northern Trust recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.80 per share, up from $0.75, reflecting a positive change in its dividend strategy.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 31.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,025,695 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 471,789 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.53% of Northern Trust worth $101,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellevest Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,666 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,065 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 11.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $119.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, reaching $127.22. The company had a trading volume of 560,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,541,928. The stock has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $133.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $128.11 and a 200-day moving average of $111.04.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 11.75%.The business's quarterly 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 37.60%.

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.