Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 118.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,357 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,583 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $5,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% in 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 last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $98.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $107.56 and a 200-day moving average of $102.37. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $79.32 and a one year high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.50.

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.