Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Short Interest Update

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, a decline of 16.0% from the March 31st total of 2,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $83.38 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.60. Northern Trust has a one year low of $62.44 and a one year high of $89.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,166,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Northern Trust by 3.3% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 87,224 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,756,000 after buying an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 15.2% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 87,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,802,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 406,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,119,000 after acquiring an additional 37,700 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $664,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.