Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.2308.

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northern Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riversedge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Down 4.1%

NTRS opened at $124.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $81.62 and a fifty-two week high of $135.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.46 and its 200 day moving average is $115.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.60%.

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.