Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 451.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 555,631 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 454,956 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.28% of Northern Trust worth $56,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

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Northern Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

NTRS traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.29. 2,003,303 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,260,611. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.32 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 over the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTRS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.31.

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.