Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $180.6786.

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research cut Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Northern Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $186.63 on Tuesday. Northern Trust has a 52 week low of $121.12 and a 52 week high of $195.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 16.91%. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 11.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas South sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction of $332,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. bought 255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 99.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBH Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.