Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NTRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $121.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Northern Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $101.05.

Northern Trust Trading Down 4.5 %

NTRS stock opened at $81.73 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.94. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $76.15 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($1.10). Northern Trust had a net margin of 17.24% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.86%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Lauren E. Allnutt sold 559 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $48,800.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,576 shares in the company, valued at $486,784.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lauren E. Allnutt sold 559 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $48,800.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,576 shares in the company, valued at $486,784.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason J. Tyler sold 1,764 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total value of $171,072.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 30,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,954,980.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Piershale Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Northern Trust by 145.4% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 319 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Northern Trust by 64.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 496 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.44% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

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Northern Trust Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Corporate & Institutional Services and Wealth Management.