O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 59,530 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 175.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 93,391 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,530 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $9,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,986,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $129,909,000 after buying an additional 8,102 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,791,000 after buying an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 928,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $95,208,000 after buying an additional 14,362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $98.65 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.32 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.88 and its 200 day moving average is $103.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.46.

Northern Trust Company 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.