Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $157.97 and last traded at $156.1770, with a volume of 32174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NTRS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen boosted 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, April 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.55.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $143.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.24. 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 $29.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Richard Petrino purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This trade represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total transaction of $3,740,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 26,259 shares in the company, valued at $3,928,871.58. The trade was a 48.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,905 shares of company stock worth $5,166,714 in the last three months. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 400,809 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $55,154,000 after purchasing an additional 15,221 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 76.1% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,293 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.