Entropy Technologies LP Acquires 8,803 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 106.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 8,803 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,637,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after purchasing an additional 644,261 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $69,542,000 after buying an additional 261,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 93,421.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 185,172 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $152,194,000 after buying an additional 184,974 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $113.51 on Monday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The stock has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.44 and a 200-day moving average of $98.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 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 issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

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.