Analysts Set Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target at $178.75

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.75.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NTRS. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore set a $179.00 price target on Northern Trust in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Northern Trust Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $184.68 on Monday. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $118.99 and a 12-month high of $191.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.37. The company has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 99.0% in the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northern Trust

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.