Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Down to $83.71

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $83.71, but opened at $80.75. Northern Trust shares last traded at $82.46, with a volume of 354,411 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTRS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research downgraded Northern Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $99.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.09.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.80. The company has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 9.14%. Northern Trust's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Northern Trust by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,768 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,921 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,271 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Northern Trust

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.