Insider Selling: Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Insider Sells 900 Shares of Stock

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) insider John Landers sold 900 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,401.60. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $1.84 on Wednesday, hitting $113.22. 1,202,701 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,200,187. 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’s 50-day moving average is $106.27 and its 200 day moving average is $97.95. The stock has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $114.21.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 133,724 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,707,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $299,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 81,198 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.