Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 71,294 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Northern Trust by 0.3%, selling 71,294 shares and leaving it with 22,225,159 shares — roughly 11.75% of the company valued at about $3.04 billion.
• Northern Trust beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.71 vs. $2.37 and revenue of $2.21 billion (up 13.8% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 ($3.20 annual, ~1.9% yield).
• Company insiders sold 12,705 shares worth about $1.89 million in the last quarter and now own 0.66% of the stock, while institutional investors hold about 83.19% of shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,225,159 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 71,294 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.75% of Northern Trust worth $3,035,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,285,236,000 after purchasing an additional 97,584 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Northern Trust by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,378,196 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $320,092,000 after acquiring an additional 133,751 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Northern Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $262,128,000 after acquiring an additional 40,048 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Northern Trust by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,924,707 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $259,066,000 after acquiring an additional 88,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Northern Trust by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,414,595 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $190,404,000 after acquiring an additional 48,417 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total value of $428,451.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,583.48. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,705 shares of company stock worth $1,888,270. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $91.74 and a fifty-two week high of $173.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.49. The stock has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore raised their price target on Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Trust from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.55.

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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