Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 25,000 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $5,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.2% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 54,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 95,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,062,000 after buying an additional 30,375 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Northern Trust by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $117,713,000 after buying an additional 26,984 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Northern Trust by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,809 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 420,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,294,000 after buying an additional 3,889 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.58.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $91.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $87.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.43. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.44 and a fifty-two week high of $92.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northern Trust news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $494,524.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,552,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,738 shares of company stock worth $1,191,388 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Company 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.