Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $26.51 Million Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 258,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $26,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after buying an additional 8,781 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $297,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 83,214 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at about $1,099,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 68.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 5,578 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $86.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $105.63 and its 200 day moving average is $103.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $78.12 and a 12 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.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NTRS. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $851,401.60. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

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.