Commerce Bank Reduces Stock Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Commerce Bank decreased its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 17.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,995 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,541 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $4,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $109.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust Co. has a 1 year low of $75.55 and a 1 year high of $109.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.06.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,120. The trade was a 64.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,176,652. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NTRS. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.