Benin Management CORP Decreases Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Benin Management CORP cut its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $110.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 10.92%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,253 shares of company stock worth $3,238,073. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.75.

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.