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

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northern Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $119.58.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.4%

NTRS stock opened at $127.06 on Tuesday. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $81.62 and a 12-month high of $133.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.37.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Northern Trust by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 29,132 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,694,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its position in Northern Trust by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 3,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Northern Trust by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,062 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Northern Trust by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Northern Trust by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,071 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northern Trust

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.