Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 69.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,120 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 22,900 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Northern Trust by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,593,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,864,652,000 after purchasing an additional 188,472 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in 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 worth $988,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,748 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,196,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $656,229,000 after purchasing an additional 184,726 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $339,711,000 after purchasing an additional 558,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Northern Trust by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,013,123 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $297,245,000 after acquiring an additional 20,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 target price on Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $131.37 on Thursday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $135.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.98.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total transaction of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,169.41. This trade represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 3,891 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $128.57 per share, with a total value of $500,265.87. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,619.02. This represents a 139.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Company 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.