Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $82.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, down from their prior target price of $84.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NTRS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $89.42.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Northern Trust stock opened at $90.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust has a 1 year low of $62.44 and a 1 year high of $92.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.61.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 12.24%. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $88,120. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,052.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,120. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,738 shares of company stock worth $1,191,388 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 986.3% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 37,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 34,411 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 6.8% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 360,640 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,111,000 after acquiring an additional 23,020 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 557.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 26,129 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 668.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 17,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Northern Trust by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 602,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,600,000 after buying an additional 24,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.