Simplicity Wealth LLC Invests $315,000 in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,077 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $918,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 452,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,757,000 after acquiring an additional 10,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 403,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,371,000 after acquiring an additional 162,623 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $101.32 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.30 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.01. The firm has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

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.