44,520 Shares in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 44,520 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,563,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,774 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,429,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,629. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $95.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.01. The stock has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.68 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 2.78%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the business's 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 owns 79,391 shares in the company, valued at $7,988,322.42. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,571 shares of company stock worth $1,410,397. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.