Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,785 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 22,688 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.10% of Northern Trust worth $17,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRS. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Northern Trust by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Northern Trust by 147.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 604 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $85.51. 1,299,033 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,122,866. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $84.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.50. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $62.44 and a 12 month high of $89.25. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,489 shares of company stock worth $3,818,031 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $86.00 target price (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.92.

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.