Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 96,058 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 14.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 560,882 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 96,058 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.27% of Northern Trust worth $41,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 13.5% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 11,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 16,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 11.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,308 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 610.6% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 52,163 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 44,822 shares during the last quarter. 81.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael O’grady acquired 20,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $65.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,302,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 219,779 shares in the company, valued at $14,307,612.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Northern Trust news, CEO Michael O’grady acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.10 per share, with a total value of $1,302,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 219,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,307,612.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jason J. Tyler bought 1,350 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.55 per share, with a total value of $87,142.50. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,520.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 26,356 shares of company stock worth $1,711,872 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRS. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Northern Trust from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.55.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $75.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $62.44 and a one year high of $100.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.95.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The asset manager reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.01). Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.06% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.93%.

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.