UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 518.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,778 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 11,551 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 10,566.7% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1,650.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 630 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $0.69 on Tuesday, hitting $86.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,307,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,393,739. The firm has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $62.44 and a twelve month high of $92.46.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRS shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.75.

Northern Trust Profile

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.