Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NTRS. StockNews.com raised shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

NTRS stock opened at $104.98 on Friday. Northern Trust has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $111.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total transaction of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. This represents a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 19,585 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.26, for a total value of $2,002,762.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,751,918.32. This represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock worth $8,489,889. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 13.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,800,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.