Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,627 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,179 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $3,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 107,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25,397 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,583,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 11,185 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

Northern Trust stock opened at $85.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.44 and a fifty-two week high of $89.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $84.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.36.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,199.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.