Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $112.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.51. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $76.67 and a 12 month high of $114.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NTRS. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,622 shares of company stock worth $6,426,307. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

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.