Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Northern Trust shares climbed to a new 52-week high (~$166.48) after reporting quarterly EPS of $2.71 versus $2.52 expected and revenue of $2.21 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 ($3.20 annualized) implying a 1.9% yield and a payout ratio of about 36.6%.
• Analysts are mixed — the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $154.55 (below current price) — while institutions (e.g., Norges Bank, AQR) have added large stakes and insiders have both bought and sold shares recently.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $166.48 and last traded at $165.8980, with a volume of 247155 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.99.

The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.19. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $151.00 in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, Director Richard Petrino purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $148.91 per share, with a total value of $148,910.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,168.12. This represents a 42.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 3,255 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.89, for a total transaction of $468,361.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,093,887.28. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 34,905 shares of company stock worth $5,166,714 over the last three months. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $257,410,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $126,794,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,516 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $235,415,000 after purchasing an additional 703,985 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 114.1% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,579 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $140,903,000 after purchasing an additional 549,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $67,126,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average is $143.98 and its 200 day moving average is $138.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.