Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,685 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 acquiring an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,986,000 after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $129,909,000 after acquiring an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’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 directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $98.77 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $79.32 and a 1-year high of $114.67. The stock has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.37.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NTRS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.50.

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.