AIA Group Ltd Sells 25,512 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 552,343 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 25,512 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust makes up approximately 1.4% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $56,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the 4th 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. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $97.15 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $107.04 and a 200-day moving average of $102.99. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $79.32 and a 1 year high of $114.67. The company has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. The trade was a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 over the last ninety days. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.46.

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.