Forsta AP Fonden Cuts Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $3,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 805 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,375,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,257 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $88.24 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.05 and a 200 day moving average of $85.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $62.44 and a 12 month high of $92.46.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,052.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northern Trust news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $494,524.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at $7,041,285.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,552,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.75.

Northern Trust 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.