3,500 Shares in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Bought by Diametric Capital LP

Diametric Capital LP acquired a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 194,416 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $19,928,000 after acquiring an additional 35,941 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 128,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,161,000 after purchasing an additional 28,615 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,532,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $259,571,000 after buying an additional 39,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 175.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 93,391 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,573,000 after buying an additional 59,530 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

NTRS opened at $97.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.68 and its 200-day moving average is $103.14. The company has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G 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. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $79.32 and a one year high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % 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 worth $3,970,211 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.54.

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.