Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Appreciation Fund” fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global markets in 2024 exceeded forecasts, primarily due to the overwhelming success of the “magnificent seven,” or mega-cap technology stocks. Despite the concentration of gains, the optimism was fueled by the U.S. election results, solid earnings growth, and a healthy labor market. Against this backdrop, the fund returned -0.53% in the fourth quarter compared to Russell Midcap Value Index’s -1.75% returns, and the Russell Midcap Index’s +0.62% gain. The fund traded +6.30% higher, over the trailing one-year period compared to +13.07% and +15.34% returns for the indexes. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Ariel Appreciation Fund emphasized stocks such as Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS). Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) is a financial holding company. Over the past month, Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) shares experienced a return of 8.96%, and they have appreciated by 40.77% over the last 52 weeks. On February 4, 2024, Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) stock closed at $111.38 per share, with a market capitalization of $21.827 billion.
Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Leading global financial franchise Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) also advanced following the delivery of strong quarterly earnings results, highlighted by increasing trust fees, solid net interest income growth and margin expansion. Meanwhile, the newly appointed executive leadership team is taking actions to position the firm for profitable growth and greater operational efficiency while continuing to serve the evolving needs of its client base. In our view, NTRS remains a trusted name offering diversified products in a favorable industry with high barriers to entry. We believe Northern’s 135-year track record highlights its strength and stability of navigating macroeconomic volatility with a conservative, operating approach.”
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Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 33 hedge fund portfolios held Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) at the end of the third quarter which was 33 in the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) reported net income of $455 million and earnings per share of $2.26. While we acknowledge the potential of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article we discussed Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) and shared the list of best asset management stocks to buy according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.