Insider Buying: Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Director Purchases $37,203.25 in Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $151.85 per share, with a total value of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,472.35. This represents a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Northern Trust stock opened at $147.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.69. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $157.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.32. The firm has a market cap of $27.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27.

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. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 84.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,567 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 40,048 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 149,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,007,000 after buying an additional 11,587 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 52,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.3% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 360,527 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,527,000 after acquiring an additional 14,899 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.