Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $111.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential downside of 6.53% from the company's current price.

NTRS has been the topic of several other reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.75.

Northern Trust Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $4.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $128.38. 576,122 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,876. The stock has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $116.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.67. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $80.81 and a fifty-two week high of $133.00.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 13.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total transaction of $650,709.54. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,772 shares of company stock worth $981,069 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 47.8% in the first 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. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 84,974 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,383,000 after acquiring an additional 6,570 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,850,088 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $774,411,000 after acquiring an additional 363,472 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 96.7% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 4,790.3% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,503 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,197,000 after buying an additional 111,182 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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