Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Rating Increased to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) was upgraded by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NTRS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Zacks Research downgraded Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.23.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $132.40 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Northern Trust has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $135.48. The company has a market cap of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly 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 previous year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,008.50. The trade was a 11.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 87.4% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.