GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,302 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ballast Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 654 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 6,001 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $83.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.68. Northern Trust Co. has a 1-year low of $62.44 and a 1-year high of $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.