Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust Corporation by 77.1% during the second quarter, holding 11,808 shares valued at $1.497 million.
• Northern Trust recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, up from $0.75, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Northern Trust, with a consensus target price of $128.23 and several firms setting new price targets, including BMO Capital Markets at $142.00.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 77.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,808 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 5,142 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.23.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $127.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.31. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.62 and a 52-week high of $135.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.04.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.05. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.60%.

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.

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