Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target Lowered to $125.00 at Morgan Stanley

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $127.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.01% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.83.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $102.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 233,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.18. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $76.67 and a 12-month high of $111.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 19,585 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.26, for a total transaction of $2,002,762.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,751,918.32. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. FMR LLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after buying an additional 1,542,685 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 13.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $622,596,000 after acquiring an additional 850,556 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Northern Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $637,873,000 after purchasing an additional 38,360 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $222,060,000 after purchasing an additional 91,816 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.