World Equity Group Inc. Takes Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

World Equity Group Inc. bought a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 10,566.7% in the 4th 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. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 343.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.20. The company had a trading volume of 909,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,353,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.83 and a 200 day moving average of $83.78. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $92.46.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $494,524.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Northern Trust

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.