Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 781 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NTRS. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $109.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.82. Northern Trust Co. has a 12-month low of $79.30 and a 12-month high of $114.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NTRS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Northern Trust

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.