Fruth Investment Management Sells 225 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Fruth Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 452.4% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 16,457 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 13,478 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 12.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 20,419 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 168.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 407,683 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,326,000 after purchasing an additional 255,740 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 75,458 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after buying an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 52.3% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,864 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 2,699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $84.40. 653,783 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,096,584. The firm has a market cap of $17.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $89.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.17.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.23. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.42.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,809.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust 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.