John Landers Sells 900 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $851,401.60. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.51. 822,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,162,977. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.43. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $76.67 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The firm has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,891 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,357 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,982,000 after acquiring an additional 31,583 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,560 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 209.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,644 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 12,614 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,412 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.