Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 13,616 Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 40.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,881 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,616 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $2,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $3,418,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 241,891 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,794,000 after acquiring an additional 10,542 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Northern Trust by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 33,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after acquiring an additional 8,522 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $4,563,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Northern Trust by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,571 shares of company stock worth $1,410,397. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS opened at $107.90 on Friday. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $79.68 and a 52-week high of $114.67. 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 company has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.06.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.99%.

Northern Trust Company 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.