Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.0833.

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $159.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.1%

Northern Trust stock opened at $174.95 on Thursday. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $109.39 and a fifty-two week high of $176.93. The stock has a market cap of $32.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total value of $462,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251 over the last three months. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Northern Trust

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.