Swedbank AB Buys 4,206 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Swedbank AB increased its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,027 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,206 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

NTRS opened at $112.29 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $76.67 and a 12 month high of $114.21.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total value of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,622 shares of company stock valued at $6,426,307 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.