Empirical Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,687 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,637,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $637,873,000 after buying an additional 38,360 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $222,060,000 after buying an additional 91,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $141,986,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This represents a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 913,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,725. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $111.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $105.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 37.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.17.

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.