Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New Investment in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 38,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,887,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,435 shares of company stock worth $4,980,311 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $112.97 on Monday. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.30 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $107.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

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.