Insider Selling: Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Insider Sells 3,009 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of Northern Trust on March 5 at an average price of $142.39 for about $428,451, trimming his stake by 9.3% to 29,332 shares, according to an SEC filing.
• Northern Trust beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.42 vs. $2.37) with revenue of $3.15 billion (up 8.4% year-over-year) and announced a $0.80 quarterly dividend (ex-dividend March 6), implying a 2.3% yield.
• Shares fell about 3.4% to $138.59 amid the news, while the Street’s consensus rating is a Hold with a $148.75 price target.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) insider Guy Gibson sold 3,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.39, for a total value of $428,451.51. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,176,583.48. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Guy Gibson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 12th, Guy Gibson sold 1,043 shares of Northern Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total transaction of $153,769.49.

Northern Trust Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NTRS traded down $4.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,061,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $145.67 and its 200-day moving average is $135.89. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $81.62 and a 52-week high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Northern Trust's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during 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 last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $148.75.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.