Royal Bank of Canada Buys 562,976 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 60.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,497,484 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 562,976 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.76% of Northern Trust worth $153,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,061 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,437,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,406 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $129,909,000 after acquiring an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.83.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.78. 1,159,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,284,909. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.68 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 79,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,988,322.42. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.