Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Northern Trust stake by 37.9% in the first quarter, selling 5,696 shares and retaining 9,317 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 83.19%, with several major investors—including Norges Bank, Eurizon Capital, AQR Capital Management and Jupiter Asset Management—initiating or increasing positions.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $180.68, while Northern Trust raised its quarterly dividend to $0.88 per share, up from $0.80.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 37.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,317 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,696 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $257,410,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $126,794,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,516 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $235,415,000 after purchasing an additional 703,985 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,579 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $140,903,000 after purchasing an additional 549,681 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,126,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This represents a 3.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $179.50 to $185.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Northern Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.68.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.7%

NTRS opened at $185.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $121.12 and a 52 week high of $191.60. The stock has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.88 and a 200-day moving average of $160.49.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 27.47%.

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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