Capital Fund Management S.A. Acquires New Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 52,362 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $5,367,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Northern Trust by 83.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRS. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.31.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of Northern Trust 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.29. 1,463,261 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,028. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.68 and a 12 month high of $114.67. The stock's fifty day moving average is $100.36 and its 200-day moving average is $102.72. The stock has a market cap of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 30.67%.

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.