Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd cut its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 57.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,802 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,014 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,550,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Northern Trust by 201.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $42,715,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $69,542,000 after purchasing an additional 261,797 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $116.00 to $98.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.31.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 quarter, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $86.01 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 stock has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

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.