Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $149.43 on Friday. Northern Trust has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $157.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,183,169.41. This trade represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total value of $3,740,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 26,259 shares in the company, valued at $3,928,871.58. This represents a 48.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 53,357 shares of company stock worth $7,370,987 over the last three months. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Northern Trust by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,814 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,913 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,539,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 102.4% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.