Avanza Fonder AB Sells 655 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.3%

Northern Trust stock opened at $108.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.22. 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 twelve month low of $80.45 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.26.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTRS. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.42.

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.