First Pacific Financial Buys 7,671 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 7,671 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 87.4% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth $35,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.08.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $136.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $141.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.44 and a 200-day moving average of $129.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 3,891 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $128.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,619.02. This trade represents a 139.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at $909,371.55. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.