Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 40.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,881 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 13,616 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS traded up $1.68 on Thursday, hitting $107.02. 1,521,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,278,402. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $96.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced 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 note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of Northern Trust 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 79,391 shares of the company's stock, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Company 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.