Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) EVP Thomas A. South Sells 3,804 Shares

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $113.53 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $78.96 and a 12-month high of $114.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.76.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,061 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,286,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 68.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,059,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Company 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.