Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.59 Million Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 78,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 17.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,415,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,849,000 after buying an additional 363,747 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Northern Trust by 4.2% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,497,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $451,415,000 after acquiring an additional 264,805 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 407,683 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,326,000 after purchasing an additional 255,740 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Northern Trust by 194.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 306,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $21,274,000 after purchasing an additional 202,167 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 938.4% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 157,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,965,000 after buying an additional 142,624 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.3 %

NTRS opened at $84.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.93 and a 200 day moving average of $79.95. The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $62.44 and a 12 month high of $89.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NTRS shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $86.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.