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

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. 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.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NTRS shares. TheStreet raised Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.92.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.23 and a 200-day moving average of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 10,566.7% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.