Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 7,249 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,249 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,791,735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $749,810,000 after acquiring an additional 126,172 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.2% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,497,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $451,415,000 after acquiring an additional 264,805 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,955,048 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $413,757,000 after acquiring an additional 89,696 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,980,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $346,015,000 after acquiring an additional 64,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,486,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $311,746,000 after acquiring an additional 119,484 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $83.44 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $89.25. The stock has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.60 and its 200 day moving average is $79.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.