AIA Group Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

AIA Group Ltd lessened its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 53.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 226,913 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd owned about 0.10% of Northern Trust worth $26,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 19.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $988,170,000 after buying an additional 1,270,748 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2,397.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,304,000 after buying an additional 630,717 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,888,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,863,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.4%

NTRS stock opened at $134.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.43. The company has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.62 and a twelve month high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $151.85 per share, for a total transaction of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,472.35. The trade was a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total value of $468,361.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,552 shares of the company’s stock, 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 34,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,714 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust 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.