Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 896 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $538,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $100.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.68 and a 12 month high of $114.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.99 and its 200 day moving average is $102.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.83.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.