Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $140.75 and last traded at $139.62, with a volume of 1322940 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $138.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NTRS. Wall Street Zen lowered Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.61.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 3,891 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $128.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,265.87. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,619.02. The trade was a 139.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total value of $95,252.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,371.55. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $988,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270,748 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Northern Trust by 2,397.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,304,000 after acquiring an additional 630,717 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at $73,888,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 154.0% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 805,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $102,191,000 after acquiring an additional 488,690 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.