Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 303.0% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 798 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $488,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 912.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NTRS. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

Northern Trust Trading Down 2.2 %

NTRS opened at $111.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.44 and its 200-day moving average is $98.51. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week 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.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock valued at $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.