O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 548,691 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,007 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Northern Trust worth $74,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 4.9% during the third quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 5.1% during the third quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.3% during the third quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. This trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,409.45. This represents a 2.84% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock opened at $170.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.25. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $106.86 and a one year high of $173.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.51%.

Northern Trust 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.