Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,924,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,699 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $259,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 682 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.3% during the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Richard Petrino acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $148.91 per share, with a total value of $148,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,583.48. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,714. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $138.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.62 and a 52-week high of $157.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.03.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.