Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $1.46 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,246 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 5,105 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $83,550,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Northern Trust by 201.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $98,791,000 after purchasing an additional 644,261 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 451.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 555,631 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $56,866,000 after purchasing an additional 454,956 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,715,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,449 shares in the company, valued at $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 in the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.59. 1,171,120 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,251,665. The company has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $97.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.81. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.68 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 27.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTRS shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.83.

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.