West Oak Capital LLC Sells 2,970 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

West Oak Capital LLC decreased its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,970 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 84.5% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 93.4% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 408 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 496 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.04.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $88.78. 140,595 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,539,708. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $62.44 and a one year high of $90.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 59.06%.

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.