National Pension Service Reduces Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 402,797 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,234 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $70,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 1,838.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 180,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,793,000 after purchasing an additional 170,745 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $395,395,000 after buying an additional 161,826 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $2,303,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth $890,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Northern Trust by 5.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 622,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $86,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,029 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. acquired 255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $189.19 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1-year low of $121.12 and a 1-year high of $195.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $186.00 price target on Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.68.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and the holding company for Northern Trust Company and related businesses. Founded in 1889, the company provides banking, investment management and fiduciary services to corporations, institutions, high-net-worth individuals, families and privately held businesses.

Northern Trust’s institutional offerings include asset custody and servicing, fund administration, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, capital markets support and related solutions.