Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $146.09 and last traded at $144.5790, with a volume of 103374 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $145.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.00.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $27.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total value of $95,252.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,371.55. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. This represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Northern Trust by 39.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $2,140,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 68.4% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,062 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 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.