1,188,320 Shares in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Acquired by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,188,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $105,665,000. Northern Trust comprises 1.4% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Northern Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Northern Trust by 8.1% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 597,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,489,000 after purchasing an additional 44,516 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 66.2% during the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 198,660 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,803,000 after purchasing an additional 79,144 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 10.9% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 74,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,155,000 after purchasing an additional 7,292 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 129.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,086 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,388,000 after purchasing an additional 116,727 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,809.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

Northern Trust stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $82.41. The company had a trading volume of 207,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,392,891. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.05. The firm has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $89.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

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.