First City Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

First City Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,145 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,420 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,550,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Northern Trust by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,497,484 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $153,493,000 after purchasing an additional 562,976 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Northern Trust by 451.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 555,631 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $56,866,000 after purchasing an additional 454,956 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,197,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 10,340.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 445,602 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,959,000 after buying an additional 441,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $107.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.26. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.68 and a 12 month high of $114.67. The stock has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.22.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 79,391 shares in the company, valued at $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,772 shares of company stock worth $981,069 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $101.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped 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 report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.42.

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.