California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Position in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,347 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.18% of Northern Trust worth $46,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRS. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 48,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,595,000 after acquiring an additional 26,594 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $1,959,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1,838.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 180,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,793,000 after purchasing an additional 170,745 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $395,395,000 after purchasing an additional 161,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $67,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.25.

Northern Trust Trading Up 2.7%

NTRS opened at $182.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $121.12 and a 12 month high of $191.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.01.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This represents a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Northern Trust

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.