Northern Trust beats on earnings, raises dividend to $0.88
Revenue came in at $2.30 billion, just under the $2.31 billion expected
Published
Northern Trust reported third-quarter earnings of $3.40 a share, well above the $2.91 analysts had expected. Revenue was $2.30 billion, slightly below the $2.31 billion forecast.
The company raised its quarterly common dividend to $0.88 a share from $0.80. It also bought back about 1.9 million shares for $352.3 million during the quarter, at an average price of $185.27 a share.
Chief executive Michael O'Grady said results reflected 11% revenue growth excluding notable items, more than 600 basis points of positive operating leverage, and organic trust-fee growth across all three of its businesses, which he linked to constructive markets.
The dividend increase and continued buybacks come as Northern Trust manages a multi-year transition in its chief financial officer role, announced last month. The pace of revenue growth and the broad-based gains across its trust-fee businesses appear to have given the board confidence to raise the payout now rather than wait for that leadership change to play out.
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