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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,837 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Northern Trust by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,673 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

NTRS opened at $112.97 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.30 and a fifty-two 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. The company has a market capitalization 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $107.25 and a 200-day moving average of $100.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,311. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.