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

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.58.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $113.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.43. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $851,401.60. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,614 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at $1,622,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Northern Trust by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Northern Trust by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 41,075 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,698,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.