AIA Group Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 552,343 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 25,512 shares during the period. Northern Trust makes up approximately 1.4% of AIA Group Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. AIA Group Ltd owned 0.28% of Northern Trust worth $56,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $83,550,000. KBC Group NV increased 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 valued at $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $69,542,000 after purchasing an additional 261,797 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 136.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 380,891 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,041,000 after purchasing an additional 219,614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.69.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Northern Trust
Northern Trust Trading Up 0.8 %
Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,246,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,014. The company's 50 day moving average price is $106.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.32 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The firm has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.
Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.
Northern Trust Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is presently 30.67%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust
In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 in the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Northern Trust
(
Free Report)
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.
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