Ariel Investments LLC Has $228.45 Million Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ariel Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,228,815 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 298,652 shares during the period. Northern Trust makes up about 2.4% of Ariel Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 1.12% of Northern Trust worth $228,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $228,000. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $229,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Northern Trust by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 684 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 3.3 %

Northern Trust stock traded up $3.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.14. 577,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,953. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $79.68 and a 1 year high of $114.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTRS. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.83.

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.