First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 258,674 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,836,008 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 258,674 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.96% of Northern Trust worth $232,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total value of $95,252.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,371.55. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 3,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.57 per share, with a total value of $500,265.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,686 shares in the company, valued at $859,619.02. This trade represents a 139.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $133.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.62 and a twelve month high of $135.48.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.