Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires New Shares in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,064 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 68.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $538,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 59,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 327.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,567,000 after purchasing an additional 21,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $110.92 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.89 and a 200-day moving average of $96.68. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a PE 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 10.92%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.75.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

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