Savant Capital LLC Lowers Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its Northern Trust stake by 80.1% in the fourth quarter, reducing holdings to 9,613 shares worth about $1.31 million.
• Brokerage sentiment is mixed but slightly improving: several firms raised price targets, and Northern Trust now has a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $164.08.
• Northern Trust reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.71 versus $2.37 expected and revenue up 13.8% year over year; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share.

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 80.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,613 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 38,808 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 48,284 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 26,594 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,253,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 113.7% during the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 28,939 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,398 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 119.9% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 83,175 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 45,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 62.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,042,084 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $140,265,000 after purchasing an additional 400,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NTRS. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $153.50 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,409.45. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,064 shares of company stock worth $4,682,064. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $168.34 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $104.99 and a 12-month high of $173.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $156.95 and its 200 day moving average is $146.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

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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