Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 14,900 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,900 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $7,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 48,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 26,594 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,253,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its position in Northern Trust by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 28,939 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,398 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,042,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $140,265,000 after purchasing an additional 400,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Northern Trust by 119.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 83,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 45,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.08.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $169.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $107.08 and a 12 month high of $173.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.79. The stock has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total value of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at $3,088,582.08. This represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $166.41 per share, with a total value of $37,442.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,409.45. This represents a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.