Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,249 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 165.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 2,254 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 860 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 434,559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,668,000 after buying an additional 62,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 577,994 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,771,000 after buying an additional 10,786 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $83.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.60 and a 200-day moving average of $79.41. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $89.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NTRS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

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.