Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Northern Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.67.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $106.63. The stock had a trading volume of 613,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,779. The stock has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.69. 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 12-month low of $73.98 and a 12-month high of $108.53.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,264,184.80. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,552,052.30. The trade was a 17.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,176,652. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 343.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. 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.