Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Upgraded at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $151.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous price target of $148.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.55.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS opened at $151.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.21 and a 200 day moving average of $137.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $83.01 and a fifty-two week high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total transaction of $428,451.51. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,176,583.48. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Petrino purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,714. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.