Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,072,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $90,532,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 1.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,791,735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $749,810,000 after purchasing an additional 126,172 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Northern Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,533,855 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $551,327,000 after buying an additional 1,553,783 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.2% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,497,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $451,415,000 after buying an additional 264,805 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Northern Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,955,048 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $413,757,000 after acquiring an additional 89,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,486,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $311,746,000 after acquiring an additional 119,484 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $83.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.11. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.44 and a fifty-two week high of $89.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Northern Trust 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.