Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 1,744 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,412 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted 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 in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 597 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.50.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $96.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.30 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.85 and a 200-day moving average of $102.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at $851,401.60. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.