HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,542 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 10,810 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,590,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Northern Trust by 15,388.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 51,137,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,889,828,000 after acquiring an additional 50,807,816 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in Northern Trust by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,129 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank grew its stake in Northern Trust by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 12,306 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NTRS opened at $187.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.24. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $121.12 and a 52 week high of $195.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $184.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 14.76%.Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.59 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.21%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. bought 255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This represents a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Northern Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.68.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and the holding company for Northern Trust Company and related businesses. Founded in 1889, the company provides banking, investment management and fiduciary services to corporations, institutions, high-net-worth individuals, families and privately held businesses.

Northern Trust’s institutional offerings include asset custody and servicing, fund administration, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, capital markets support and related solutions.