Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Acquired by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 508,198 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 104,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.26% of Northern Trust worth $52,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,550,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $98,791,000 after buying an additional 644,261 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 451.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 555,631 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $56,866,000 after acquiring an additional 454,956 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,715,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.31.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Northern Trust stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 513,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.83 and a 200-day moving average of $102.93. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $79.32 and a one year high of $114.67. The stock has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% 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.