Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New Investment in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 38,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,887,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position 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 during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.58.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock opened at $112.97 on Monday. Northern Trust Co. has a one year low of $79.30 and a one year high of $114.67. The firm has a market cap of $22.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.31.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,435 shares of company stock worth $4,980,311. 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.