Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $17.85 Million Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,998 shares during the period. Northern Trust comprises about 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Northern Trust worth $17,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $83,550,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 201.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after purchasing an additional 644,261 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after acquiring an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $69,542,000 after purchasing an additional 261,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 359,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,829,000 after acquiring an additional 118,544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $100.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.32 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.85.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.