Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $4.56 Million in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 44,520 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,563,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTRS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,550,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $98,791,000 after purchasing an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 60.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 451.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,197,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NTRS traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.18. 3,646,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,295,912. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.68 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.26. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total value of $329,835.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 79,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NTRS. Citigroup dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.83.

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.