National Pension Service Reduces Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

National Pension Service cut its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 354,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,209 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $48,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 48,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after buying an additional 26,594 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at $2,253,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 113.7% in the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 28,939 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,398 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 62.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,042,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,265,000 after purchasing an additional 400,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 119.9% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 83,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 45,356 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock opened at $165.45 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $104.99 and a 52-week high of $173.18. The firm has a market cap of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid 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 presently 33.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,176,583.48. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,064 shares of company stock valued at $4,682,064. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.08.

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.