UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its position in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total value of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares in the company, valued at $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.46.

Northern Trust Stock Down 3.4 %

NTRS stock opened at $97.15 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.32 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

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.