HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.43 Million Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 48.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,774 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 8,781 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Williams Financial LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $1,322,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 59,118 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 327.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,567,000 after purchasing an additional 21,835 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,666,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $488,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Northern Trust from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 19,585 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.26, for a total value of $2,002,762.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,132 shares in the company, valued at $1,751,918.32. The trade was a 53.34 % 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, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 82,151 shares of company stock worth $8,489,889 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,990,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,318. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.27. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $76.67 and a 12-month high of $111.87. The company has a market capitalization of $20.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

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.