Swedbank AB Increases Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Swedbank AB significantly increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 141.8%, acquiring an additional 28,395 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 48,422 shares worth approximately $6.14 million.
• Northern Trust has recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.80 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.
• Despite a revenue decline of 26.4% year-over-year, Northern Trust reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 141.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,422 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 28,395 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,062 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,798 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 320 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,666 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,065 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $131.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 796,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,100,199. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.49. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $133.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.30.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. Northern Trust's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $119.58.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

About Northern Trust

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.