Man Group plc Takes $147.72 Million Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Man Group plc purchased a new position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 849,733 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $147,718,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,959,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1,838.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 180,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,793,000 after acquiring an additional 170,745 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $395,395,000 after acquiring an additional 161,826 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $67,126,000. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its position in Northern Trust by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 136,403 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,631,000 after acquiring an additional 61,858 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.1%

NTRS opened at $186.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $182.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.87.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 14.76%.The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.68.

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.