Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,601 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,217 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $111.00 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock valued at $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

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.