Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.58.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NTRS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $100,296.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $851,401.60. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,631 shares of company stock valued at $4,550,459 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.3% during 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. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Northern Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $637,873,000 after purchasing an additional 38,360 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,577,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,986,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,267,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $129,909,000 after buying an additional 8,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $113.51 on Monday. Northern Trust has a twelve month low of $76.67 and a twelve month high of $114.67. The company has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $106.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.