Aberdeen Group plc Raises Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 182,289 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,026 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $23,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRS. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the first quarter worth about $35,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 68.4% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NTRS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.23.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $127.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $129.45 and its 200 day moving average is $116.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.62 and a 52-week high of $135.48.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. Northern Trust’s revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.60%.

About Northern Trust

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.