Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.75.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value of $529,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,253 shares of company stock valued at $3,238,073. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $110.92 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Northern Trust 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.