Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) CFO Sells $3,321,039.92 in Stock

Key Points

• CFO David Fox Jr. sold $3,321,039.92 worth of Northern Trust stock (19,987 shares at $166.16) on April 28, cutting his ownership by 51.81% to 18,588 shares.
• Quarterly results topped estimates: Northern Trust reported $2.71 EPS vs. $2.37 expected and revenue rose 13.8% year-over-year, while analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with a $163.55 price target.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (annualized $3.20, yield 1.9%), and the stock has been trading around $164.83, close to its 52-week high of $173.18.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) CFO David Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Northern Trust stock traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.83. 2,123,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,124,431. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $146.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.49. The firm has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23. 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 current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business'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 posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40,048 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,253,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 400,247 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45,356 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of 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 target on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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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