Ariel Investments LLC Has $228.45 Million Stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Ariel Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,228,815 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 298,652 shares during the period. Northern Trust comprises about 2.4% of Ariel Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $228,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Northern Trust by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 528.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,966 shares of company stock worth $781,976. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Trading Up 2.7 %

NTRS stock opened at $97.52 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $79.68 and a 52 week high of $114.67. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.83.

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.