Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Virtu Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 44.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,148 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,265 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in Northern Trust by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 15,936 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 5.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 100,675 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,064,000 after purchasing an additional 4,989 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 24,668 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,221,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $1,424,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 34.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 283,690 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,552,000 after buying an additional 73,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.46.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock traded down $3.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.15. 1,524,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,228,457. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.99. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owns 81,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

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.