Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,352 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Piershale Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 145.4% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 319 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 64.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 496 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Dupont Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 545 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 81.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Lauren E. Allnutt sold 559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $48,800.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,784.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $72.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $69.54 and a one year high of $113.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 14.73%. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $87.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Northern Trust from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Northern Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $96.50 in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $107.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.29.

Northern Trust Profile

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Northern Trust Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Corporate & Institutional Services and Wealth Management.