Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.68.

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Northern Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. bought 255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $179.57 per share, with a total value of $45,790.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This trade represents a 3.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth $26,000. NBH Bank bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $169.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $182.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.53. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $121.12 and a 52-week high of $195.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.24.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $1.52. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 14.76%.The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This is an increase from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.21%.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1889, the company provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services to corporations, institutions, affluent individuals and families, and financial professionals.

Through its wealth management business, Northern Trust offers investment management, financial planning, trust and estate services, private banking, and family office solutions. Its asset servicing and banking operations support institutional investors and businesses with custody, fund administration, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, capital markets, and related banking solutions.

Northern Trust serves clients through operations in the United States and international markets, including Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.