Franklin Resources Inc. Has $19.93 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 194,416 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 35,941 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $19,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 128,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,161,000 after acquiring an additional 28,615 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,532,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $259,571,000 after acquiring an additional 39,592 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 175.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 93,391 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,573,000 after purchasing an additional 59,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $86.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $78.12 and a 12 month high of $114.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.17. 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 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%. Research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.67%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays upped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.31.

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.