Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 17 ratings firms, with three sell ratings, ten hold ratings, and four buy ratings.
• The average target price for Northern Trust shares among brokerages is $128.23, with recent adjustments from various analysts including Citigroup's increase to $135.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, reflecting an increase from the previous $0.75, and its current annualized yield stands at 2.6%.

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $128.2308.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $142.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,593,674 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,864,652,000 after purchasing an additional 188,472 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Northern Trust by 4.9% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $774,411,000 after purchasing an additional 363,472 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 19.5% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $988,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270,748 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,196,659 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $656,229,000 after acquiring an additional 184,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,501,628 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $443,971,000 after acquiring an additional 58,029 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NTRS stock opened at $124.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.62. The company has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.31. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $81.62 and a 52-week high of $135.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. Northern Trust's quarterly revenue was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is presently 37.60%.

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.

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