Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 327.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,510 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 21,835 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,637,435,000 after buying an additional 1,542,685 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Northern Trust by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $622,596,000 after acquiring an additional 850,556 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $637,873,000 after purchasing an additional 38,360 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 3.6% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $222,060,000 after purchasing an additional 91,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 12.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,003,675 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $168,253,000 after purchasing an additional 219,387 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $110.33. 598,012 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,242. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $76.67 and a twelve month high of $111.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.11.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,630,839. This trade represents a 37.69 % 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, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total value of $163,462.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,120. This trade represents a 64.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,006 shares of company stock valued at $8,653,352 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.00.

Northern Trust 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.