Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.75.

NTRS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Northern Trust from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $151.85 per share, with a total value of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,472.35. The trade was a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 26,259 shares in the company, valued at $3,928,871.58. This represents a 48.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 13.1% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 682 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 0.3% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 29,132 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,694,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5.1% in the third quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $144.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $157.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

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.