Smith Group Asset Management LLC Makes New $410,000 Investment in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,000 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $538,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Northern Trust by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 59,118 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,322,000 after buying an additional 4,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,253 shares of company stock worth $3,238,073. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $113.62. The stock had a trading volume of 167,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,755. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $106.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.20. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $113.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 37.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTRS. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.58.

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.