Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 375 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,380 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Inceptionr LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 18,079 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 9,362 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $7,456,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 473.0% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 848 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $466,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.50.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $104.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.30 and a 12 month high of $114.67. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the business’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 value of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.