Wall Street Zen Upgrades Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Northern Trust, with three rating it as "buy," nine as "hold," and three as "sell," reflecting mixed sentiment among investment experts.
• Northern Trust's stock recently traded at $133.31, with a market capitalization of approximately $25.49 billion and a current consensus target price of $119.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on NTRS. Truist Financial upped their target price on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen started coverage on Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Northern Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $123.00 price target on Northern Trust and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $119.58.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS traded up $1.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.31. 1,173,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,126,529. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $81.62 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 11.75%.The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $126.34 per share, for a total transaction of $32,343.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,008.50. This trade represents a 11.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $276,087,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Northern Trust by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,793,757 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $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% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,026 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $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% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $178,637,000 after buying an additional 585,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,888,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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