Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Grows Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% during 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,435 shares of company stock worth $4,980,311. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.58.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $112.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.07. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.30 and a twelve month high of $114.67. 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 capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

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.