Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 9,312 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 195,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,312 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $20,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $89.27 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $101.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.83. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $79.32 and a 1-year high of $114.67. The firm has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

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.