Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lowered its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 337,529 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 25,823 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of Northern Trust worth $34,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.58.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $0.82 on Monday, reaching $109.40. 1,223,120 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,681. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $108.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.41. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $79.30 and a 1-year high of $114.67.

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

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.