Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $135.56 and last traded at $135.46, with a volume of 552507 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $133.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.98 and a 200 day moving average of $125.72.

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

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,371.55. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. This represents a 36.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 87.4% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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.