The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on NTRS. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.67.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $131.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.26. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $80.81 and a 12-month high of $133.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $109.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.57.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 13.73%. Analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 79,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,988,322.42. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,163.20. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,772 shares of company stock worth $981,069. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter worth $83,550,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 47.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,810,816 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $178,637,000 after purchasing an additional 585,992 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,497,484 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $153,493,000 after purchasing an additional 562,976 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 19.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,443,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $339,711,000 after purchasing an additional 558,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 451.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 555,631 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $56,866,000 after purchasing an additional 454,956 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.