Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) PT Raised to $103.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $101.00 to $103.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 26.46% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on NTRS. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.92.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $81.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $89.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.93.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 140.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,802,792 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $489,640,000 after acquiring an additional 3,387,002 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,533,855 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $551,327,000 after buying an additional 1,553,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $134,901,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,080,885 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $513,105,000 after buying an additional 1,468,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $105,665,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.