Confluence Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,140,058 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,339 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust makes up 1.6% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Northern Trust worth $116,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 9.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Northern Trust by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 922 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Northern Trust by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 43,713 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,608,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Northern Trust by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,673 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,212,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 1.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,584 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Northern Trust from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $103.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. The trade was a 37.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 4,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.86, for a total transaction of $447,717.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 79,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,000,820.36. This trade represents a 5.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ NTRS traded up $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $102.99. 936,009 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,360. The company's 50-day moving average price is $105.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $111.87. The company has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 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.