Cigna Investments Inc. New Purchases New Shares in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 2,023 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $110.42 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.46 and a 200-day moving average of $98.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 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 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock valued at $4,550,459 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.