GM Advisory Group LLC Takes $298,000 Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 7.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 81,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,362,000 after buying an additional 19,655 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,652 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 15,936 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $2,071,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $99.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.32 and a 52-week high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NTRS. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.50.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This represents a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. 0.64% of the stock is 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.