Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,418 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 252,439 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,418 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $30,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Veritable L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.7% during the third quarter. Veritable L.P. now owns 13,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.0% during the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 5,109 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 12,592 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.35% of the company’s stock.

In related news, EVP Lauren E. Allnutt sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total value of $41,504.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $141.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $149.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 28th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.75.

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $104.15 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $100.05 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The stock has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 26th. The asset manager reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.11. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 23.57%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 9th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Northern Trust Profile (Get Rating)

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, Corporate & Institutional Services (C&IS) and Wealth Management.

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