Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $195.78 and last traded at $191.7390, with a volume of 14883 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $191.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Northern Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group set a $186.00 target price on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore set a $179.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.68.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.09 and a 200-day moving average of $161.48. The stock has a market cap of $34.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.47%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,388. This represents a 3.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 39.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 79.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.