Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $140.75 and last traded at $139.62, with a volume of 1322940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Northern Trust from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 price target on Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 EPS 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 3,891 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $128.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $859,619.02. The trade was a 139.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the company’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 value of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,169.41. The trade was a 36.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

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.