State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 42,060 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 42,060 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,891,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $581,539,000 after purchasing an additional 394,855 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,802,792 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $489,640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,387,002 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the first quarter worth about $105,665,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $90,532,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.3% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 602,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,600,000 after acquiring an additional 24,791 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $88.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $62.44 and a twelve month high of $92.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.05 and its 200-day moving average is $85.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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

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.