Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Short Interest Update

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,592,826 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the March 31st total of 2,224,596 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 873,204 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded down $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.48. The company had a trading volume of 834,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $95.88 and a 12-month high of $173.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $147.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.83.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 10.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $151.85 per share, for a total transaction of $37,203.25. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,472.35. This represents a 3.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,656,369.34. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $5,211,464. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 13.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 39.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 79.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Northern Trust in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.55.

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.