Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Given New $132.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $136.00 to $132.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.31.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $86.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $79.32 and a 52-week high of $114.67.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Northern Trust by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 26,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,416,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 327.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after buying an additional 21,835 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 4,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 8,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.