Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $86.78, but opened at $92.55. Northern Trust shares last traded at $90.55, with a volume of 245,202 shares trading hands.

The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total transaction of $252,042.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,585,448.83. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,956 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 14,328 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,571 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the first quarter valued at about $351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Trading Up 4.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.45 and a 200-day moving average of $102.89.

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.