Empowered Funds LLC Buys 13,655 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 333.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,749 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,655 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after buying an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $637,873,000 after buying an additional 38,360 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $141,986,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,791,000 after buying an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $110.77 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $78.75 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. On average, research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.