Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 158,627 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $16,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $637,873,000 after purchasing an additional 38,360 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,986,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after purchasing an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $112.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.31. The company has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.30 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,311. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.