BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 15,721 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 242,276 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15,721 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.12% of Northern Trust worth $24,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $100.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.85. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $79.68 and a 1 year high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

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.