Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Grows Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) by 55.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,246 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 5,105 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $229,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 684 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded up $0.88 on Tuesday, hitting $93.39. 318,822 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.68 and a 12 month high of $114.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.37 and a 200 day moving average of $102.89.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.99%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NTRS. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.