Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at $851,401.60. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $110.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $78.75 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.29.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.71%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Barclays increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.58.

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.