Royal Bank of Canada Sells 122,399 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its Northern Trust stake by 14.9%, selling 122,399 shares and retaining 701,631 shares valued at approximately $97.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.19% of the company.
• Northern Trust raised its quarterly dividend from $0.80 to $0.88 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $3.52 and a 1.9% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $180.25 target price, while NTRS shares recently opened at $182.19.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 701,631 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 122,399 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.38% of Northern Trust worth $97,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,285,236,000 after acquiring an additional 97,584 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,747,840 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $511,917,000 after purchasing an additional 301,164 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $395,395,000 after purchasing an additional 161,826 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,455,996 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $342,744,000 after purchasing an additional 36,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,036,137 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $284,184,000 after purchasing an additional 83,117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $182.19 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $121.12 and a 12 month high of $191.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $33.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.30 and a 200-day moving average of $159.17.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $186.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.25.

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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