Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 391,761 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 20,237 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $52,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Northern Trust by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,593,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,864,652,000 after acquiring an additional 188,472 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Northern Trust by 19.5% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $988,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,748 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,196,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $656,229,000 after purchasing an additional 184,726 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,501,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $443,971,000 after purchasing an additional 58,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,692,597 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $341,399,000 after purchasing an additional 33,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $143.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.39 and a 200 day moving average of $135.47. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $81.62 and a 52 week high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Clive Bellows sold 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total value of $166,758.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 34,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,958,159.58. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 1,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total value of $153,769.49. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,013 shares in the company, valued at $5,161,966.59. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,641 shares of company stock worth $4,269,900 over the last three months. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.