ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 24.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,418 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 10,665 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 986.3% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 37,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,198,000 after buying an additional 34,411 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 557.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 26,129 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 602,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,600,000 after purchasing an additional 24,791 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 70,384 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,939,000 after purchasing an additional 23,859 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 17,074.2% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 74,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after purchasing an additional 73,590 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,809.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $86.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.30. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $62.44 and a 1 year high of $92.46.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.42.

Northern Trust Profile

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.