Strs Ohio Purchases 61,858 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in Northern Trust by 83% in Q4, buying 61,858 shares to hold 136,403 shares valued at about $18.63M (≈0.07% of the company).
• Insider activity: CFO David W. Fox Jr. sold 19,987 shares (a 51.8% cut to his holding), a director bought 1,000 shares, and insiders have sold a total of 32,705 shares (~$5.21M) in the past 90 days; insiders own 0.66% of the stock.
• Fundamentals & outlook: Northern Trust beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.71 (vs. $2.37) and revenue up 13.8% YoY, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 ($3.20 annual, 1.9% yield), while analysts raised targets but the consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average target of $163.55.

Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 83.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,403 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 61,858 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned 0.07% of Northern Trust worth $18,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 79.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total value of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $148.91 per share, with a total value of $148,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $496,168.12. This represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $5,211,464 over the last ninety days. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.55.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $164.48 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $95.88 and a one year high of $173.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 33.51%.

Northern Trust 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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