Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,243 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,694 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Northern Trust worth $21,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter worth $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,476.46. This represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total transaction of $2,801,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. The trade was a 37.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

NTRS stock opened at $103.61 on Thursday. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.80 and a 200-day moving average of $93.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

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.