Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $180.68 According to Brokerages

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.68.

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research cut Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th.

Northern Trust Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $174.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $121.12 and a 12-month high of $195.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Northern Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 11.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is a boost from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction of $332,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. bought 255 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This represents a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.3% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 12,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 2.0% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 16.5% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and the holding company for Northern Trust Company and related businesses. Founded in 1889, the company provides banking, investment management and fiduciary services to corporations, institutions, high-net-worth individuals, families and privately held businesses.

Northern Trust’s institutional offerings include asset custody and servicing, fund administration, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, capital markets support and related solutions.