Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.58.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Northern Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.0%

NTRS opened at $130.03 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust has a 12 month low of $80.81 and a 12 month high of $133.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.26.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total value of $329,835.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total transaction of $650,709.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,391 shares in the company, valued at $7,988,322.42. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,772 shares of company stock worth $981,069. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Northern Trust by 6,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.