Analysts Set Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target at $107.17

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.17.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $100.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust has a 52 week low of $76.67 and a 52 week high of $111.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.30.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,630,839. This represents a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This trade represents a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Northern Trust by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Northern Trust by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 43,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Northern Trust by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,673 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 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.