Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $148.75.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 245 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $151.85 per share, for a total transaction of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,472.35. This represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total value of $428,451.51. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,583.48. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,905 shares of company stock worth $5,166,714. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $138.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.16. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $81.62 and a 52-week high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

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.