NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 3,475 Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,475 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the firm'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 value of $329,835.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 79,391 shares in the company, valued at $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.6%

Northern Trust stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,159,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,986. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.68 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. 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 2.84%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NTRS. Bank of America decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research 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 has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.