Ieq Capital LLC Increases Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 487.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,535 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 36,124 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its position 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 worth $1,637,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Northern Trust by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $637,873,000 after acquiring an additional 38,360 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $112.97 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.30 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.09 and a 200-day moving average of $99.85. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.25 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. 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 2.66%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,311. 0.64% of the stock is owned by 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.