Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Northern Trust to “Hold” from “Strong Buy.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with 9 Hold, 4 Buy, and 2 Sell ratings and an average price target of $180.68.
• Northern Trust shares opened at $187.66, up 0.4%, near their 12-month high of $195.78. The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $4.23 versus the $2.71 consensus and revenue of $2.71 billion.
• Insider activity was mixed: a director purchased 255 shares, while an executive vice president sold 1,800 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold approximately 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northern Trust from $179.50 to $185.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.68.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS opened at $187.66 on Tuesday. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $121.12 and a 12-month high of $195.78. The stock has a market cap of $34.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $182.29 and a 200 day moving average of $164.15.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The asset manager reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by $1.52. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 16.91%. The business's revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 11.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,388. The trade was a 3.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction of $332,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 39.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 79.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,290 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,714,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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