Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,140,058 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,339 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust makes up 1.6% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.58% of Northern Trust worth $116,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Northern Trust by 303.0% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 798 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value of $529,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Northern Trust from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.62 on Thursday, hitting $103.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 262,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,360. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $76.67 and a 1 year high of $111.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.12.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

About Northern Trust

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.