Optas LLC Invests $251,000 in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Optas LLC has invested approximately $251,000 in Northern Trust Corporation by acquiring 1,976 shares during the second quarter of the year.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their holdings, with Venturi Wealth Management acquiring around $287,000 worth of shares during the same period.
• Northern Trust recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.80 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.5%, up from $0.75.

Optas LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,976 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $287,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 70,809 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $205,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 11.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 66.5% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,368 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $142.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.23.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS opened at $129.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.31. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.62 and a 12-month high of $135.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.46. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business's revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.34 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

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

Northern Trust Company 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.

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