Versor Investments LP Acquires Shares of 5,200 Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $988,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270,748 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2,397.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,304,000 after purchasing an additional 630,717 shares in the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at $73,888,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in Northern Trust by 154.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 805,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $102,191,000 after purchasing an additional 488,690 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,371.55. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard Petrino purchased 1,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $496,168.12. This trade represents a 42.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $146.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.02. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $157.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

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.