JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,158,581 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,534,016 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.61% of Northern Trust worth $155,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 84.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,567 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Northern Trust by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $262,128,000 after acquiring an additional 40,048 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 8.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 149,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,007,000 after purchasing an additional 11,587 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,829 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,207,000 after purchasing an additional 52,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 360,527 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,527,000 after purchasing an additional 14,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NTRS opened at $144.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.62 and a 1-year high of $157.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.89 and a 200 day moving average of $134.84.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Guy Gibson sold 1,043 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total transaction of $153,769.49. Following the transaction, the insider owned 35,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,161,966.59. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total value of $3,740,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 26,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,928,871.58. The trade was a 48.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,191 shares of company stock worth $4,061,028. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.