Stevens Capital Management LP Decreases Holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Stevens Capital Management LP lowered its stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,803 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 864 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ballast Inc. grew its position in Northern Trust by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 654 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley & Associates grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 6,001 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NTRS traded down $0.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.44. 1,595,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,520,945. Northern Trust Co. has a twelve month low of $62.44 and a twelve month high of $89.25. The stock has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

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.