Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.92 Million Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 11,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,917,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth $2,523,781,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Northern Trust by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,285,236,000 after buying an additional 97,584 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,060,553,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,747,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $511,917,000 after purchasing an additional 301,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $395,395,000 after purchasing an additional 161,826 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $186.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $121.12 and a 12-month high of $195.78.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $1.52. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 14.76%.The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore set a $179.00 price target on Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.68.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,388. The trade was a 3.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,180,353.30. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.