Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Sold by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,728 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,656 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust comprises approximately 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $18,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.75.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $146.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.69. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $157.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $151.85 per share, for a total transaction of $37,203.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,472.35. The trade was a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 1,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total value of $153,769.49. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,161,966.59. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 27,191 shares of company stock valued at $4,061,028 over the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Company 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.