Ballast Inc. Trims Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ballast Inc. lessened its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 918 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.5% in 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. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 3.6% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $222,060,000 after purchasing an additional 91,816 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 buying an additional 219,387 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Teresa Parker sold 4,439 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.86, for a total value of $447,717.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 79,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,000,820.36. This trade represents a 5.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total transaction of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,630,839. This trade represents a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock worth $8,489,889. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $106.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.73. 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 cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $76.67 and a 12 month high of $111.87.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.17.

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.