Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Purchased by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 68.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,765 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $971,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,850 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $3.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.15. 2,428,868 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,299,338. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $111.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $102.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.86.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 37.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Northern Trust from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total value of $163,462.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $88,120. This represents a 64.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,006 shares of company stock valued at $8,653,352 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.