O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 548,691 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,007 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $74,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,285,236,000 after buying an additional 97,584 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $395,395,000 after buying an additional 161,826 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,378,196 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $320,092,000 after buying an additional 133,751 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,953,020 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $266,763,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,924,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $259,066,000 after buying an additional 88,699 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,409.45. This represents a 2.84% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NTRS. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.08.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $170.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.48. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $106.86 and a twelve month high of $173.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors 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 payout ratio is 33.51%.

Northern Trust 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.