Vest Financial LLC Has $6.77 Million Stock Holdings in Northern Trust Corporation $NTRS

Vest Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 66.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,571 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 99,620 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Certuity LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,975 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,909,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 6,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,190,998 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $162,678,000 after acquiring an additional 148,567 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.55.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.47 and a 200-day moving average of $140.49. The company has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $91.74 and a 52 week high of $173.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,583.48. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,705 shares of company stock valued at $1,888,270. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.