Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 3,993 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,993 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 528.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $106.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.22. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $79.68 and a 1 year high of $114.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NTRS shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.