Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS is Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,730 shares during the period. Northern Trust makes up about 2.8% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $19,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 79.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRS. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.55.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $164.48 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $95.88 and a 12 month high of $173.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.93.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of Northern Trust 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $151.85 per share, with a total value of $37,203.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,472.35. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $5,211,464. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.