Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.46.

NTRS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $98.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.07. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $79.32 and a 12-month high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 355,732 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,022 shares during the period. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,152,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,784,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.