Guy Gibson Sells 1,043 Shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) insider Guy Gibson sold 1,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total transaction of $153,769.49. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,161,966.59. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $146.38 on Friday. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $157.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $143.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.22.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 84.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,567 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Northern Trust by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $262,128,000 after buying an additional 40,048 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 8.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 149,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,007,000 after buying an additional 11,587 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 228.0% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,829 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,207,000 after buying an additional 52,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 360,527 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,527,000 after buying an additional 14,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.