Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,766 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust comprises 2.3% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.08% of Northern Trust worth $15,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Northern Trust by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 359,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,829,000 after buying an additional 118,544 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 89,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,176,000 after buying an additional 6,307 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Northern Trust by 432.1% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 87,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,955,000 after buying an additional 70,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

NTRS opened at $99.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust Co. has a 12 month low of $79.32 and a 12 month high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report 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 report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

About Northern Trust

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.