Westpac Banking Corp Sells 15,404 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 97.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 363 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15,404 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,711,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,644,763,000 after purchasing an additional 457,748 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 7.5% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,460,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $921,914,000 after purchasing an additional 731,301 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 17.8% during the first quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,108,597 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $450,221,000 after purchasing an additional 772,279 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,464,322 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $392,593,000 after acquiring an additional 98,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.8% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,367,356 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $323,796,000 after acquiring an additional 201,644 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NTRS. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Northern Trust from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Bank of America began coverage on Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $69.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.55.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $75.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.98. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $100.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The asset manager reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 13.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 56.93%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.41 per share, for a total transaction of $322,050.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 31,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,184.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.41 per share, with a total value of $322,050.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 31,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,184.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason J. Tyler acquired 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.55 per share, for a total transaction of $87,142.50. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,520.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 26,356 shares of company stock worth $1,711,872. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Company 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.