Thomas South Sells 1,800 Shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) EVP Thomas South sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $17,180,353.30. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $187.66 on Thursday. Northern Trust Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $121.12 and a fifty-two week high of $195.78. The company has a market cap of $34.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.15.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. 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 (DPR) is currently 27.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $179.50 to $185.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $186.00 target price on Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.68.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust by 99.0% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBH Bank acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.