Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 70.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,061 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,824 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. The trade was a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 over the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.15. 1,524,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,228,457. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.99. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.32 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67. The firm has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.46.

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.