Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 989,448 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,224,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 989,448 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 3.26% of Northern Trust worth $837,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 13.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Northern Trust by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,062 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,798 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at $909,371.55. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,169.41. The trade was a 36.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $145.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.62 and a 12-month high of $148.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $136.15 and its 200-day moving average is $131.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NTRS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

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.