Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,422 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,673 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,449 shares in the company, valued at $6,585,448.83. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS opened at $104.37 on Wednesday. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $79.30 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $108.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.53.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NTRS. Barclays lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

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.