Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 7,837 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,837 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position 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. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $112.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $107.25 and its 200 day moving average is $100.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 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.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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, research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,311. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.58.

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.