Morningstar Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,932 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dupont Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 545 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Northern Trust by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 15,487 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 29,612 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 81.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Lauren E. Allnutt sold 559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $48,800.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $486,784.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

NTRS stock traded up $0.77 on Friday, reaching $72.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 245,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,658. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.16. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $69.54 and a 12-month high of $113.15. The firm has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.73% and a return on equity of 14.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 8th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NTRS. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $84.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Northern Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $96.50 in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $87.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.29.

Northern Trust Profile

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Northern Trust Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Corporate & Institutional Services and Wealth Management.