Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 342,452 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 1,677.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 362,871 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 342,452 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.18% of Northern Trust worth $30,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 94.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 147.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 604 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.6 %

NTRS traded up $1.34 on Friday, hitting $84.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,224,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 968,222. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.46. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $89.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.23. Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

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.