Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 111,463 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 19,537 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $15,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 98.7% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 314 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2,650.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 385 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NTRS. Zacks Research lowered Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.55.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $164.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $147.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $95.88 and a 12-month high of $173.18. The firm has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,088,582.08. This represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $5,211,464 over the last three months. 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.