Oak Harvest Investment Services Purchases 3,417 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 113,315 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust accounts for approximately 1.6% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Northern Trust were worth $11,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 68.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth $538,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 59,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,322,000 after acquiring an additional 4,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $112.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $106.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $76.67 and a 12 month high of $114.21. The company has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,253 shares of company stock valued at $3,238,073. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

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.