Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Northern Trust has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a more positive outlook from analysts.
• Despite the upgrade, other analysts have mixed ratings, with three giving a "sell" rating and nine assigning a "hold" rating, which results in a consensus target price of $116.58.
• Recent insider trading activity showed significant share sales, with executives reducing their positions, indicating potential concerns about the company's future performance.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

NTRS has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Northern Trust from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $118.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.58.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.03. 1,158,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,868,366. Northern Trust has a twelve month low of $80.81 and a twelve month high of $133.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northern Trust news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total transaction of $650,709.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,988,322.42. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total value of $329,835.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 45,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,631,000 after buying an additional 20,564 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 325,630 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $33,631,000 after purchasing an additional 32,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Northern Trust by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 22,413 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 4,240 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by 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.