Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Purchased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% during the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $86.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $78.12 and a 12 month high of $114.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.17. 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 data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.31.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 in the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.