Bridgewater Associates LP Grows Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 294.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,918 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $1,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 343.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at $462,476.46. The trade was a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,630,839. This represents a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,906 shares of company stock worth $7,643,252. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $111.16 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.06. Northern Trust Co. has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 and a fifty-two week high of $111.87.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.67.

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.