Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.4%

Northern Trust stock opened at $140.14 on Friday. Northern Trust has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $141.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.57 and a 200 day moving average of $128.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.27.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total transaction of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. This trade represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total value of $95,252.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at $909,371.55. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 5,225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.