R Squared Ltd Invests $82,000 in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 798 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Northern Trust by 9.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,637,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 0.5% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $637,873,000 after purchasing an additional 38,360 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,986,000 after buying an additional 16,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Northern Trust by 201.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $112.29 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $114.21. The company has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $106.20 and a 200-day moving average of $97.31.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,698,972.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,476.46. The trade was a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value of $529,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,264,184.80. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,622 shares of company stock worth $6,426,307. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

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.