Polaris Capital Management LLC Has $39.34 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 383,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,800 shares during the period. Northern Trust accounts for approximately 1.9% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Northern Trust worth $39,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after buying an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,791,000 after purchasing an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $69,542,000 after acquiring an additional 261,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 93,421.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 185,172 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $152,194,000 after purchasing an additional 184,974 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $111.00 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 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 stock has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.51.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 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%. Analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % 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, 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on NTRS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

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.