HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Invests $376,000 in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,376 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 140.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,802,792 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $489,640,000 after buying an additional 3,387,002 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,533,855 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $551,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,532,000. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,891,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $581,539,000 after purchasing an additional 394,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Northern Trust by 1,677.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 362,871 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,618,000 after buying an additional 342,452 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.82.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $82.16 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $89.25. The company has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

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.