Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $7.46 Million in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 72,740 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,456,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $141,986,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,406 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $129,909,000 after acquiring an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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 downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.85.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS traded down $0.89 on Thursday, reaching $100.55. 687,724 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,175,725. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $107.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.32 and a 12 month 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 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This represents 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 worth $3,970,211 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% 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.