Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given New $118.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $119.00 to $118.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

NTRS has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.46.

Northern Trust Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $97.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.04 and its 200-day moving average is $102.78. Northern Trust has a 1 year low of $79.32 and a 1 year high of $114.67. The stock has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. Equities analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,486,616 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $767,378,000 after buying an additional 92,162 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,904,871 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $501,444,000 after buying an additional 30,908 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Northern Trust by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,885,312 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $295,744,000 after buying an additional 202,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Northern Trust by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,532,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $259,571,000 after acquiring an additional 39,592 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently 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.