First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 298 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,075 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 17.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,415,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,849,000 after buying an additional 363,747 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,497,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $451,415,000 after purchasing an additional 264,805 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 407,683 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,326,000 after purchasing an additional 255,740 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Northern Trust by 194.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 306,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $21,274,000 after purchasing an additional 202,167 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 938.4% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 157,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,965,000 after purchasing an additional 142,624 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $85.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.36.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction 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 owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total value of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.