Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $170.00 to $179.50. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Northern Trust traded as high as $179.38 and last traded at $179.4730, with a volume of 16741 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $176.50.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on NTRS. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northern Trust from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $175.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northern Trust from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.42.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 225 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $166.41 per share, for a total transaction of $37,442.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,355,409.45. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. The trade was a 9.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,785,251. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 2.0% during the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 16.5% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $33.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.33.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 11.21 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 33.51%.

About Northern Trust

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.