Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 166,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,055 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $17,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $69,542,000 after acquiring an additional 261,797 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 359,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,829,000 after acquiring an additional 118,544 shares during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,682,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.46.

Northern Trust Stock Down 3.4 %

NTRS stock opened at $97.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $79.32 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $107.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.88.

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

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,585,448.83. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. Company insiders own 0.64% 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.