Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 504,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,745 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $67,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,593,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,864,652,000 after acquiring an additional 188,472 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 19.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $988,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,748 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 3.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,196,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $656,229,000 after purchasing an additional 184,726 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,501,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $443,971,000 after purchasing an additional 58,029 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,692,597 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $341,399,000 after purchasing an additional 33,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $137.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $81.62 and a 52 week high of $157.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $145.61 and its 200 day moving average is $136.22. The firm has a market cap of $25.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total value of $468,361.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,093,887.28. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total value of $428,451.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,176,583.48. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 34,905 shares of company stock worth $5,166,714 in the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.