Townsquare Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,079 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $90.60 on Thursday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.68 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.71. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total value of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.83.

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.