Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Bought by Ariel Investments LLC

Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,816 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust makes up 2.4% of Ariel Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned approximately 1.29% of Northern Trust worth $222,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 103.2% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 89,101 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,483,000 after acquiring an additional 45,253 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $863,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 39,078 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,282,000 after purchasing an additional 14,359 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Northern Trust by 34.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 133,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,172,000 after buying an additional 33,875 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 210,363 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $17,670,000 after acquiring an additional 8,307 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $90.79 on Thursday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $92.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.43. The company has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $494,524.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,041,285.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total value of $533,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,738 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,388 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.58.

Northern Trust Profile

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.