Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $189.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Northern Trust traded as high as $177.78 and last traded at $176.26, with a volume of 811677 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $175.56.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $166.41 per share, with a total value of $37,442.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,355,409.45. This trade represents a 2.84% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total value of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 48,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after acquiring an additional 26,594 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth $2,253,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 113.7% in the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 28,939 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,398 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,042,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,265,000 after purchasing an additional 400,247 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 119.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 83,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 45,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $32.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

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.