Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 460,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Northern Trust worth $47,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Aviva PLC grew its position in Northern Trust by 1,488.3% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 121,440 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,448,000 after buying an additional 113,794 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,308,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Northern Trust by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 98,503 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,097,000 after acquiring an additional 11,854 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 7,851 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.31.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $86.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $78.12 and a 52-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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.17.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.