Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Sold by Kanawha Capital Management LLC

Kanawha Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,601 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,452 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $3,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTRS. Barclays boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares in the company, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $111.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $78.24 and a one year high of $114.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.90. 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 (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. On average, analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Northern Trust Company 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.