Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $7.12 Million Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,814 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $7,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,901,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,014,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $178,287,000 after acquiring an additional 689,920 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1,080.5% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 600,908 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $69,974,000 after acquiring an additional 550,006 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,711,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,644,763,000 after acquiring an additional 457,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 17.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,415,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $167,849,000 after acquiring an additional 363,747 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $81.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $62.44 and a 52 week high of $89.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.23%.

Insider Activity

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

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.