OP Asset Management Ltd Purchases New Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 19,405 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,708,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,285,236,000 after purchasing an additional 97,584 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,747,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $511,917,000 after buying an additional 301,164 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $395,395,000 after buying an additional 161,826 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,419,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,527,000 after buying an additional 41,478 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Northern Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,953,020 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $266,763,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. This represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,409.45. This represents a 2.84% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251 over the last 90 days. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $173.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.25. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $118.99 and a 12-month high of $178.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $167.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.88.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NTRS. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northern Trust from $175.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.62.

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.