Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research cut shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

NTRS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group set a $186.00 target price on Northern Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore set a $179.00 price target on Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northern Trust from $179.50 to $185.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.68.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $187.66 on Tuesday. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $121.12 and a 52-week high of $195.78. The stock has a market cap of $34.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.29 and its 200-day moving average is $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 14.76%.Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 11.59 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is a boost from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1,838.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 180,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,793,000 after purchasing an additional 170,745 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Northern Trust by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,894,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $395,395,000 after purchasing an additional 161,826 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $67,126,000. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 136,403 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,631,000 after buying an additional 61,858 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 256,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,063,000 after buying an additional 38,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.