UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 34.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 283,690 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,552,000 after acquiring an additional 73,327 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 257,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in Northern Trust by 294.2% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 18,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 13,918 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,986,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.46.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $97.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.32 and a 12 month high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

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.