Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $20.06 Million Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 195,695 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,312 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.10% of Northern Trust worth $20,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRS. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,774 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,463,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,426. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $79.68 and a 1-year high of $114.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $99.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.71. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.31.

Northern Trust Company 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.