UBS Group AG Buys 148,567 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 14.3%, buying 148,567 shares to own 1,190,998 shares (about 0.63% of the company) valued at roughly $162.68 million.
• Northern Trust beat quarterly expectations with $2.71 EPS vs. $2.37 expected and reported $2.21 billion in revenue, up 13.8% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (annualized $3.20) with an ex-dividend date of June 5 and a yield of about 1.9%.

UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,190,998 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 148,567 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 0.63% of Northern Trust worth $162,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $262,128,000 after purchasing an additional 40,048 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at about $2,253,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $164.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $91.74 and a twelve month high of $173.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.66.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NTRS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Four research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $5,211,464 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

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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