Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

NTRS has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.75.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.3 %

Northern Trust stock opened at $110.92 on Friday. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 and a fifty-two week high of $111.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,253 shares of company stock valued at $3,238,073. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 68.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $538,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 59,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,322,000 after buying an additional 4,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 327.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after buying an additional 21,835 shares during the period. 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.