InvesTrust Takes Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 74,165 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,608,000. Northern Trust comprises approximately 2.1% of InvesTrust's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Northern Trust by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $622,596,000 after purchasing an additional 850,556 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 3.6% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $222,060,000 after buying an additional 91,816 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.17.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NTRS traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,608. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $76.67 and a 52 week high of $111.87. The company's 50 day moving average price is $105.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.78. The stock has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the firm'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 value of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

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.