Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by S.A. Mason LLC

S.A. Mason LLC lowered its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 93.4% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 408 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 306.3% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 581 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth $40,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $87.75 on Thursday. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $90.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 9.14%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. TheStreet upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.04.

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.