Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Makes New Investment in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 3,732 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,873 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 7,240 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $394,000. Oak Associates Ltd. OH acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,633,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,448 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $89.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.83. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.32 and a fifty-two week high of $114.67. The company has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. The trade was a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.31.

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.