Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $21.82 Million Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,141 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Northern Trust worth $21,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in Northern Trust by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $988,170,000 after buying an additional 1,270,748 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2,397.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $83,304,000 after buying an additional 630,717 shares in the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $73,888,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 154.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 805,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $102,191,000 after acquiring an additional 488,690 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $146.50 on Thursday. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.62 and a twelve month high of $157.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total value of $95,252.10. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,371.55. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $148.91 per share, with a total value of $148,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $496,168.12. The trade was a 42.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Northern Trust

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.