Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 21,835 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 327.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,835 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 19,585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.26, for a total value of $2,002,762.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,751,918.32. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 84,006 shares of company stock worth $8,653,352 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS opened at $108.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $111.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

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.