Cypress Capital Group Sells 3,605 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,138 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,605 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $105.37 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.21 and a 200-day moving average of $101.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.30 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 30.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company 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.