Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $140.75 and last traded at $140.82, with a volume of 5895 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $139.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total transaction of $3,535,234.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,169.41. This trade represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 3,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $128.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $859,619.02. This represents a 139.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 44.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,522 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 39.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,395 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Northern Trust by 119.9% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 83,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,195,000 after buying an additional 45,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.