Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 297,221 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 1.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,296,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 297,221 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Northern Trust worth $3,001,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Northern Trust by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $988,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,748 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2,397.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $83,304,000 after buying an additional 630,717 shares in the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $73,888,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 805,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $102,191,000 after buying an additional 488,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $147.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $27.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $144.67 and a 200-day moving average of $134.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $157.60.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, insider Guy Gibson sold 1,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total value of $153,769.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,161,966.59. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Petrino purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This represents a 42.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,191 shares of company stock valued at $4,061,028. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial set a $148.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.