Precision Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires New Shares in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,552 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.8% during the second 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 grew its holdings 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 worth $988,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270,748 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,196,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $656,229,000 after acquiring an additional 184,726 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Northern Trust by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,501,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $443,971,000 after acquiring an additional 58,029 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,692,597 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $341,399,000 after acquiring an additional 33,227 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,371.55. This represents a 9.48% 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 purchased 3,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $859,619.02. This represents a 139.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Northern Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $140.75 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $141.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.16.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.30%.

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.