Robert Edward Jr. Moritz Purchases 256 Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Key Points

• Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 256 shares of Northern Trust Corporation at an average price of $126.34 per share, increasing his total holdings to 2,525 shares valued at approximately $319,008.50.
• Northern Trust recently declared a $0.80 quarterly dividend, up from the previous $0.75, reflecting a positive change and a yield of 2.5%.
• Brokerage analysts have mixed ratings for Northern Trust, with four “sell” ratings, eight “hold” ratings, and two “buy” ratings, and an average price target of $117.08.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.34 per share, with a total value of $32,343.04. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS stock traded up $1.03 on Monday, hitting $127.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 637,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,628. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.20. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1 year low of $81.62 and a 1 year high of $133.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.34 EPS. Northern Trust's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Northern Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.08.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Northern Trust by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $988,170,000 after buying an additional 1,270,748 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Northern Trust by 2,397.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $83,304,000 after buying an additional 630,717 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Northern Trust by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $178,637,000 after buying an additional 585,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $73,888,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.