Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) CFO Sells $468,361.95 in Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) CFO David Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total transaction of $468,361.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,093,887.28. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Northern Trust Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ NTRS traded down $1.57 on Thursday, hitting $143.50. 1,334,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,139. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.62 and a 200-day moving average of $135.83. Northern Trust Corporation has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRS. TD Cowen upped their target price on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,947,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $262,128,000 after acquiring an additional 40,048 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,863,000. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 149,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $19,007,000 after purchasing an additional 11,587 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 228.0% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,829 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,207,000 after purchasing an additional 52,711 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Northern Trust by 4.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 360,527 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,527,000 after buying an additional 14,899 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northern Trust

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.