Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.75.

NTRS has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Northern Trust from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $89.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.67. Northern Trust has a one year low of $62.44 and a one year high of $92.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 53.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. Analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,552,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total value of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,552,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Northern Trust by 0.3% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 43,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,608,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 23.1% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 805 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.