Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $79.56, but opened at $81.29. Northern Trust shares last traded at $81.82, with a volume of 215,243 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.84. The company has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 10,566.7% in the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.