Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 73,327 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 283,690 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 73,327 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.14% of Northern Trust worth $25,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Northern Trust by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $622,596,000 after acquiring an additional 850,556 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4,660.5% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 399,932 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $33,586,000 after purchasing an additional 391,531 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,046,757 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $591,787,000 after buying an additional 261,285 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,003,675 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $168,253,000 after buying an additional 219,387 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 55.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 597,146 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $49,575,000 after buying an additional 212,089 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,120. The trade was a 64.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,906 shares of company stock worth $7,643,252. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.16. The company had a trading volume of 621,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,595. The company has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $111.87. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $99.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.62.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

About Northern Trust

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.