NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 18,195 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,136 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 18,195 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.08.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRS traded up $2.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.06. 1,021,583 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,250,066. The company has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $99.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.89.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

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.