Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Holdings Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 333.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,749 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 13,655 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% during 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 period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NTRS shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust 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 stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.0 %

NTRS stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.79. The stock had a trading volume of 905,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,983. The firm has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $106.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.66. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $78.75 and a 12-month 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.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.