Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Down to $83.71

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $83.71, but opened at $80.75. Northern Trust shares last traded at $82.46, with a volume of 354,411 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.09.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 59.06%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,802,792 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $489,640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,387,002 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Northern Trust by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,533,855 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $551,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,901,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,080,885 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $513,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,468,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $105,665,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.