Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $26.51 Million Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of Northern Trust worth $26,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Northern Trust by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,532,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $259,571,000 after acquiring an additional 39,592 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $129,909,000 after acquiring an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 201.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 963,811 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,791,000 after acquiring an additional 644,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 928,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $95,208,000 after purchasing an additional 14,362 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Trading Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $86.01 on Monday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52 week low of $78.12 and a 52 week high of $114.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.63 and its 200-day moving average is $103.17. The firm has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.