Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,893 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,706 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $3,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after buying an additional 1,542,685 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in 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 worth $69,542,000 after acquiring an additional 261,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 67.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 403,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,371,000 after purchasing an additional 162,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $110.22 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.30 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.