Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,823 Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,823 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $110.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $76.67 and a 1 year high of $111.87. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 10.92%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.75.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,476.46. The trade was a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,253 shares of company stock worth $3,238,073 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company 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.