Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS) Anymore

Judging by the fact that Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has witnessed declining sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there is a sect of money managers who sold off their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. Intriguingly, James Parsons’s Junto Capital Management said goodbye to the largest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $35.2 million in stock. Dmitry Balyasny’s fund, Balyasny Asset Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $27.4 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 8 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS). We will take a look at Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:QVCA), International Paper Company (NYSE:IP), Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ROP), and Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH). This group of stocks’ market values resemble NTRS’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 38.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1476 million. That figure was $423 million in NTRS’s case. Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:QVCA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) is the least popular one with only 26 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) is even less popular than APH. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.