Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $173.78 and last traded at $174.2630, with a volume of 64845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northern Trust from $153.50 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.08.

Northern Trust Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.87. The stock has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $166.41 per share, with a total value of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,409.45. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total value of $3,321,039.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 13.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,984,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 39.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 79.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,714,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.