Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 13,190 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 52.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,190 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,542 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 106,503 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,917,000 after acquiring an additional 38,358 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 17,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $1,152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 79,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,988,322.42. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.9%

NTRS stock opened at $106.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.22. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.68 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.28.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRS. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.42.

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.