Pitcairn Co. Decreases Stake in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Pitcairn Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,271 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $262,128,000 after acquiring an additional 40,048 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $64,863,000. Aviva PLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 8.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 149,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $19,007,000 after purchasing an additional 11,587 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,829 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,207,000 after purchasing an additional 52,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 360,527 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,527,000 after purchasing an additional 14,899 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Director Richard Petrino purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,168.12. The trade was a 42.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total value of $468,361.95. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,552 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,887.28. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 31,896 shares of company stock worth $4,738,262 over the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.75.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $143.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $145.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.89. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.62 and a 12-month high of $157.60. The firm has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

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.