Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 9,886 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,874 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,886 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $646,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 65,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,732,000 after purchasing an additional 7,837 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 487.4% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,535 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,462,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 25,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 8,629 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 7,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $113.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.66. The stock has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $78.75 and a 1 year high of $114.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced 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 net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. 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 on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRS. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

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.