Insider Selling: Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) COO Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total transaction of $3,740,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 26,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,928,871.58. The trade was a 48.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.96. 954,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,380. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $157.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.07.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter worth about $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 19.5% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $988,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,748 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2,397.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,304,000 after buying an additional 630,717 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $73,888,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in Northern Trust by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 805,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $102,191,000 after purchasing an additional 488,690 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Key Stories Impacting Northern Trust

Here are the key news stories impacting Northern Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded NTRS to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), citing stronger earnings prospects — a direct catalyst for buying interest from retail and quant-focused investors. Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $175 and reaffirmed a “buy” rating, implying meaningful upside vs. current levels and likely prompting institutional interest. TD Cowen Note
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets reported analyst price-target increases (examples: $155, $159, $150, $140), which collectively support higher valuations and lift sentiment. Price Target Raises (sample) Price Target Raises (sample)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks included NTRS on its list of momentum stocks and published a short piece noting the shares are up ~2.1% over the last week — momentum recognition can attract trend-following flows. Momentum List Weekly Move
• Neutral Sentiment: Northern Trust confirmed management will present at the BofA Securities Financial Services Conference on Feb. 10 — provides an opportunity for management to discuss outlook but is a routine investor event. Conference Notice
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent Yahoo Finance piece asks whether it’s too late to buy after a strong multi-year run — a cautious viewpoint that could temper some buying but doesn’t present new fundamental negative data. Opinion/Timing Piece

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.