Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,541,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 252,390 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,015,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2,650.0% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 385 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 245 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $151.85 per share, with a total value of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,472.35. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total value of $3,740,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 26,259 shares in the company, valued at $3,928,871.58. This trade represents a 48.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,191 shares of company stock worth $4,061,028. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $145.74 on Thursday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $157.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $145.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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.