AIA Group Ltd Buys 10,786 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 577,994 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 10,786 shares during the period. Northern Trust comprises 2.0% of AIA Group Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd owned about 0.28% of Northern Trust worth $48,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $134,901,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,014,774 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $178,287,000 after purchasing an additional 689,920 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 1,080.5% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 600,908 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $69,974,000 after purchasing an additional 550,006 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,711,584 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,644,763,000 after buying an additional 457,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,415,790 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $167,849,000 after buying an additional 363,747 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $81.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,404,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,512,283. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $62.44 and a 12 month high of $89.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $83.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.84.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NTRS. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Wolfe Research cut Northern Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, TheStreet raised Northern Trust from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.92.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% 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.