Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $108.10 Million Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Northern Trust stake by 8% in the fourth quarter, selling 68,651 shares and leaving it with 791,404 shares valued at about $108.1 million.
• Northern Trust reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.71 versus $2.37 expected and revenue of $2.21 billion versus $2.13 billion expected, with revenue up 13.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, payable July 1, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $164.08.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 791,404 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 68,651 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.42% of Northern Trust worth $108,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the third quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5.1% in the third quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.3% in the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. This represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,514 shares of company stock valued at $4,890,937 over the last 90 days. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $164.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $173.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $150.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.08.

About Northern Trust

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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