Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Virtu Financial LLC cut its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,283 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,766 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballast Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

NTRS stock opened at $82.90 on Wednesday. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $62.44 and a one year high of $89.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.60 and a 200-day moving average of $83.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.23. Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NTRS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.82.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.