HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,376 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management raised its stake in Northern Trust by 10,566.7% in the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Northern Trust by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Northern Trust by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 147.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.82.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $82.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.06. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $62.44 and a 1-year high of $89.25. The firm has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.23. Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

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.