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

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,791 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust makes up approximately 1.7% of AIA Group Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $53,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. Ballast Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report 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 report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.42.

Northern Trust Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $2.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.28. 1,137,818 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,912. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.21. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $62.44 and a 1-year high of $89.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,809.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the business’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 value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.