Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $157.97 and last traded at $156.1770, with a volume of 32174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTRS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Northern Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $139.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.55.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.76 and a 200-day moving average of $138.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Petrino bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $148.91 per share, for a total transaction of $148,910.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $496,168.12. The trade was a 42.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $151.85 per share, with a total value of $37,203.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,472.35. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,905 shares of company stock worth $5,166,714. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.