Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Grows Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.58.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $112.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.30 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.25 and a 200 day moving average of $100.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,435 shares of company stock worth $4,980,311. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.