KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 72,109 Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 72,109 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $7,437,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,637,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542,685 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third 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. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $69,542,000 after acquiring an additional 261,797 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 359,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,829,000 after purchasing an additional 118,544 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was 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 link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.85.

Northern Trust Trading Up 2.7 %

NTRS stock opened at $101.44 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $79.32 and a one year high of $114.67. The company has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $107.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

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.