Versor Investments LP Has $1.25 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has significantly increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 216.3% in the first quarter, now owning 12,651 shares valued at $1.25 million.
• Northern Trust's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing expectations, but its revenue declined by 26.4% year-over-year.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80, reflecting a 2.5% yield, up from the previous dividend of $0.75.

Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 216.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,651 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTRS. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $7,456,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $546,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $276,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 472,701 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $48,452,000 after acquiring an additional 177,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $117.08.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 709,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,483. The stock has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $133.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $124.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.56.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 35.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Profile

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.