Fmr LLC Sells 389,455 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Fmr LLC lowered its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,798,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 389,455 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 0.09% of Northern Trust worth $1,824,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 48.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after buying an additional 8,781 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $297,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 83,214 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth $1,099,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.31.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $86.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $105.63 and its 200-day moving average is $103.17. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $78.12 and a 12-month high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,401.60. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents 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 worth $3,970,211 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

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.