Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS Shares Sold by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 144,181 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12,538 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust accounts for about 2.7% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $19,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 87.4% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Truist Financial set a $148.00 price target on Northern Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. This trade represents a 36.38% 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 this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 3,891 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $128.57 per share, with a total value of $500,265.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,619.02. This trade represents a 139.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $144.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12-month low of $81.62 and a 12-month high of $148.98.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%. Equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Northern Trust Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.