Ieq Capital LLC Has $4.46 Million Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 487.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,535 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,124 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRS. Barclays boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $112.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $79.30 and a one year high of $114.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.85. 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 data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,311. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

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.