Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street maintains a “Hold” consensus on Northern Trust, with nine hold, four buy and two sell ratings among 15 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $180.68.
• Northern Trust reported quarterly EPS of $4.23, well above the $2.71 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 35.1% year over year to $2.71 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.80 to $0.88 per share, equivalent to a $3.52 annual payout and a 2.0% yield; institutional investors own 83.19% of the stock.

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.68.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NTRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $179.50 to $185.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore set a $179.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $176.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Northern Trust from $176.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $175.73 on Friday. Northern Trust has a 12 month low of $121.12 and a 12 month high of $195.78. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $183.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.60. The stock has a market cap of $32.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 30.21%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Moritz, Jr. purchased 255 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $179.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,790.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,388. The trade was a 3.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas South sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total transaction of $332,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,180,353.30. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at $2,523,781,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $1,060,553,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $361,079,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $257,410,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,054,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and the holding company for Northern Trust Company and related businesses. Founded in 1889, the company provides banking, investment management and fiduciary services to corporations, institutions, high-net-worth individuals, families and privately held businesses.

Northern Trust's institutional offerings include asset custody and servicing, fund administration, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, capital markets support and related solutions.

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