PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,819 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Northern Trust worth $15,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $339,711,000 after buying an additional 558,287 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $41,905,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter worth $41,834,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 529.4% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 461,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $45,515,000 after purchasing an additional 388,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $44,186,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $127.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.13. The stock has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G 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. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $135.48.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 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 on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. This represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 3,891 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.57 per share, with a total value of $500,265.87. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,619.02. This trade represents a 139.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NTRS. Barclays boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Zacks Research cut Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

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.