Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $178.75.

Several analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $170.00 to $179.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group set a $186.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,409.45. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. This trade represents a 51.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 99.0% in the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $184.68 on Monday. Northern Trust has a 12 month low of $118.99 and a 12 month high of $191.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

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.