Aviance Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,652 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 119,389 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,610,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4,646.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 29,097 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 28,484 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 30.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Northern Trust by 518.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 13,778 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 11,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 668.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 17,574 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,184.80. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total value of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,052.30. The trade was a 17.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 80,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,176,652. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRS. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.67.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $107.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.29. The firm has a market cap of $21.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.06. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $74.63 and a 12-month high of $109.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

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.