VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $44.59 Million in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 256,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $44,590,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.14% of Northern Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,984,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Northern Trust by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 79.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRS. Zacks Research cut shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. 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 target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.68.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $186.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $183.88 and its 200-day moving average is $165.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $121.12 and a fifty-two week high of $195.78.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. acquired 255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust 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.