Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 427,546 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 30,663 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.22% of Northern Trust worth $43,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,486,616 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $767,378,000 after purchasing an additional 92,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,904,871 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $501,444,000 after buying an additional 30,908 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd 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. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Northern Trust by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,885,312 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $295,744,000 after buying an additional 202,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Northern Trust by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,532,401 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $259,571,000 after buying an additional 39,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,159,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,909. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.22. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $79.68 and a 1-year high of $114.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a PEG 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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,163.20. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the company'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 approximately $7,988,322.42. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research 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 an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.