The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target to $101.00

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the asset manager's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.83.

Northern Trust Stock Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $4.07 on Wednesday, reaching $132.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,046,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,987. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.63 and a 200 day moving average of $104.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.26. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $80.81 and a 12-month high of $132.12.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 13.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 320 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.