Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) shares crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.80 and traded as high as $178.14. Northern Trust shares last traded at $178.02, with a volume of 1,002,563 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northern Trust from $185.00 to $191.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective 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, October 22nd. Capital One Financial set a $190.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $200.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.03.

Northern Trust Stock Up 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.80 and a 200 day moving average of $165.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The asset manager reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.53. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 17.97% and a net margin of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 12.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.59%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Susan Levy sold 16,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.15, for a total transaction of $2,855,859.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 59,378 shares in the company, valued at $9,984,410.70. This trade represents a 22.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. acquired 236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $169.07 per share, with a total value of $39,900.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,088.52. This represents a 2.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,706 shares of company stock valued at $3,850,282. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $26,000. NBH Bank bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) is a financial services company that provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services. The company serves institutional investors, corporations, financial institutions, high-net-worth individuals and families.

Its offerings include custody and administration of investment assets, fund accounting, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, investment management, trust and estate services, private banking and wealth planning.