Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,039 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,070 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Northern Trust worth $10,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $113.53. 1,945,585 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,718. 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 12-month low of $78.96 and a 12-month high of $114.67. The company has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $106.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.76.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.