Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target on Northern Trust from $176 to $186 while keeping a Hold rating, implying about 7% upside from the current price.
• Several other analysts also recently revised their views, with some upgrades and higher targets; the stock’s overall consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $167.62.
• Northern Trust reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $2.71 versus $2.37 expected and revenue of $2.21 billion, while shares traded around $173.53 on Friday.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $176.00 to $186.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the asset manager's stock. Truist Financial's price target suggests a potential upside of 7.19% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NTRS. Zacks Research upgraded Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $175.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.62.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.53. The stock had a trading volume of 159,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,204. Northern Trust has a 12 month low of $118.99 and a 12 month high of $178.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, CFO David W. Fox, Jr. sold 19,987 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.16, for a total transaction of $3,321,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,088,582.08. The trade was a 51.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Clive Bellows sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.02, for a total transaction of $462,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,369.34. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,800 shares of company stock worth $3,785,251. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth $257,410,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $126,794,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,516 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $235,415,000 after acquiring an additional 703,985 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,579 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $140,903,000 after acquiring an additional 549,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $67,126,000. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Northern Trust

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.

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