Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $2.18 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NTRS. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 6.0% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 303.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 798 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $488,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 912.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NTRS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $111.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.44 and a 200-day moving average of $98.51. The company has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $76.67 and a 52 week high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.67%.

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.