Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 21,591 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,109 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 21,591 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $8,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Northern Trust by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 93.4% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 408 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 5.0 %

NTRS stock traded down $4.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.56. 3,079,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,513,824. The business's 50 day moving average price is $83.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.80. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $89.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Northern Trust's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $68.00 to $99.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. TheStreet raised Northern Trust from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.09.

About Northern Trust

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.