Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Stock: Machina Capital S.A.S. Increases Stake

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 42.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,020 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,481 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,405 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $178.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.42. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $121.53 and a 12 month high of $195.78.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The asset manager reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.26 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Susan Levy sold 3,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.69, for a total transaction of $661,602.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,016,474.82. This trade represents a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. bought 236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $169.07 per share, with a total value of $39,900.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,460,088.52. The trade was a 2.81% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 22,706 shares of company stock valued at $3,850,282 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRS. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $173.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $208.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $200.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $185.00 to $191.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Northern Trust from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.03.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1889, it provides services to institutions, corporations, governments, and individuals and families. The company’s businesses include asset servicing, asset management, wealth management, and banking. Its services include investment management, custody and administration, fiduciary services, banking, and financial planning. Northern Trust serves clients in the United States and internationally, with operations across multiple regions.