MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 2,138 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,387 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,138 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 294.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 18,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 13,918 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Northern Trust by 0.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 257,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth about $920,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Northern Trust by 34.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 283,690 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,552,000 after purchasing an additional 73,327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NTRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,120. The trade was a 64.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,476.46. The trade was a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,906 shares of company stock valued at $7,643,252 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $111.16 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.06. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 and a fifty-two week high of $111.87.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

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.