AIA Group Ltd Acquires 24,791 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 602,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,791 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust accounts for 1.7% of AIA Group Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. AIA Group Ltd owned about 0.29% of Northern Trust worth $53,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its position in Northern Trust by 10,566.7% during the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,809.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NTRS. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.42.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $2.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,137,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,912. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.21. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $62.44 and a twelve month high of $89.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.23. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

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.