Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Purchased by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 111.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,753 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,093 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,285,236,000 after purchasing an additional 97,584 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,378,196 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $320,092,000 after purchasing an additional 133,751 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,924,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $259,066,000 after purchasing an additional 88,699 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $257,410,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 3.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,414,595 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $190,404,000 after purchasing an additional 48,417 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $169.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.28. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $104.99 and a fifty-two week high of $173.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,656,369.34. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,809 shares of company stock worth $4,213,702. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Northern Trust from $153.50 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.