Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 8.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,370 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 13.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $622,596,000 after purchasing an additional 850,556 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,046,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $591,787,000 after acquiring an additional 261,285 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $222,060,000 after acquiring an additional 91,816 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,003,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,253,000 after acquiring an additional 219,387 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $117,713,000 after purchasing an additional 26,984 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at $462,476.46. This represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. The trade was a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,176,652 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

NTRS opened at $108.93 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $74.63 and a 12 month high of $109.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.06.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.67.

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.