Dearborn Partners LLC Takes $1.28 Million Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,142 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.3% during the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.0% during the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 16.5% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.7% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Northern Trust by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,388. The trade was a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $179.50 to $185.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group set a $186.00 price target on Northern Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.68.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $186.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1-year low of $121.12 and a 1-year high of $195.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.79 and a 200 day moving average of $163.61. The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

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.