MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 3,224 Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,224 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,410,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $126,794,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,516 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $235,415,000 after purchasing an additional 703,985 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,579 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,903,000 after purchasing an additional 549,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $67,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $175.60 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.66 and a 200 day moving average of $152.81. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $118.99 and a 1 year high of $178.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.24.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 33.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $175.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $153.50 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 19,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Company 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.