Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Northern Trust stake by 4.1% in Q4, selling 18,853 shares and ending the period with 435,827 shares (about 0.23% of the company) worth roughly $59.53 million.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently: insiders disposed of 34,905 shares (~$5.17 million) in the last 90 days, including COO Peter Cherecwich's sale of 25,000 shares, leaving corporate insiders with 0.66% ownership.
• Analyst and market picture: consensus rating is a "Hold" with an average target of $154.55; NTRS trades near $155.82 and pays a $0.80 quarterly dividend (2.1% yield).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 435,827 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 18,853 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Northern Trust worth $59,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 314 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.55.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,583.48. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total value of $3,740,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 26,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,928,871.58. The trade was a 48.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,714. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.2%

NTRS stock opened at $155.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $85.72 and a twelve month high of $157.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $143.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.24. The stock has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.23.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

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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