Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 6,640 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,640 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $9,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 2,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 385 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Northern Trust Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $143.09 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a twelve month low of $81.62 and a twelve month high of $157.60. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.39 and its 200-day moving average is $135.41.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.05, for a total transaction of $208,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,904,336.10. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This trade represents a 42.88% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,641 shares of company stock worth $4,269,900 in the last three months. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.