Short Interest in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Decreases By 43.8%

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, a decline of 43.8% from the October 15th total of 3,170,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

Northern Trust stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.84. 1,191,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,301,215. Northern Trust has a 52 week low of $72.28 and a 52 week high of $108.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.44.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value of $529,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,184.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,120. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,176,652 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 257,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,637,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $920,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 283,690 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,552,000 after acquiring an additional 73,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,424,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. Bank of America increased their target price on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.50.

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.