Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 827 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Ballast Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $84.46 on Tuesday. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $62.44 and a twelve month high of $89.25. The company has a market cap of $17.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The asset manager reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.23. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total value of $1,045,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,740,809.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 4,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.56, for a total transaction of $338,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,804,199.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Cherecwich sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.09, for a total transaction of $1,045,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,809.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,489 shares of company stock worth $3,818,031. 0.64% of the stock is currently 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.