Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by U S Global Investors Inc.

U S Global Investors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NTRS. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. 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 valued at $386,809,000 after buying an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 678,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $69,542,000 after buying an additional 261,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 403,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,371,000 after buying an additional 162,623 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $109.12 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.30 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $107.87 and a 200-day moving average of $100.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NTRS shares. Barclays increased 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 cut their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 over the last ninety days. 0.64% 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.