Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $177.78 and last traded at $176.26, with a volume of 811677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NTRS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.08.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $32.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $166.41 per share, with a total value of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,355,409.45. This represents a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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. Insiders sold 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251 in the last three months. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTRS. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.