Smith Group Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 4,000 Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Northern Trust by 9.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Northern Trust by 14.5% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,253 shares of company stock valued at $3,238,073 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $112.60 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.04 and its 200 day moving average is $97.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $113.91.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.56 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NTRS. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

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.