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

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total value of $163,462.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,120. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total value of $163,462.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,120. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,738 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,388 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 140.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,802,792 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $489,640,000 after acquiring an additional 3,387,002 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the first quarter worth $105,665,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 13.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $622,596,000 after acquiring an additional 850,556 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 4,660.5% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 399,932 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,586,000 after acquiring an additional 391,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.9% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,046,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $591,787,000 after acquiring an additional 261,285 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $90.03 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.94 and a 200 day moving average of $85.68. The company has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust has a 1-year low of $62.44 and a 1-year high of $92.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.33%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.23%.

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.