Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 44.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,142 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,044 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,493,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,285,236,000 after acquiring an additional 97,584 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 6.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,378,196 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $320,092,000 after acquiring an additional 133,751 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $262,128,000 after acquiring an additional 40,048 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,924,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $259,066,000 after purchasing an additional 88,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,414,595 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $190,404,000 after purchasing an additional 48,417 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,583.48. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,514 shares of company stock valued at $4,890,937. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $164.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $173.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.15 and its 200 day moving average is $143.01.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.08.

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.