Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,345 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,418,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,486,616 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $767,378,000 after buying an additional 92,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,904,871 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $501,444,000 after purchasing an additional 30,908 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,885,312 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $295,744,000 after purchasing an additional 202,327 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,571 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,397 in the last three months. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.83.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.90. 1,429,726 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,275,629. The company has a market capitalization of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.01. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $79.68 and a 1 year high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

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.