V Square Quantitative Management LLC Trims Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,529 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 191 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $48,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NTRS opened at $110.77 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $78.75 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The company has a market cap of $21.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.14.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS 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, analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at $851,401.60. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock valued at $4,550,459 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.