Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,526,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 366,633 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.34% of Northern Trust worth $340,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Northern Trust by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $988,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,748 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 2,397.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $83,304,000 after purchasing an additional 630,717 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $73,888,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 805,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $102,191,000 after buying an additional 488,690 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $143.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $81.62 and a fifty-two week high of $157.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $151.85 per share, for a total transaction of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,472.35. This represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.05, for a total value of $208,872.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 20,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,904,336.10. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,641 shares of company stock valued at $4,269,900 in the last ninety days. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $148.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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 upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

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.