Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Insider Clive Bellows Sells 1,148 Shares

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) insider Clive Bellows sold 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.26, for a total transaction of $166,758.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,958,159.58. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 920,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,143. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.09. Northern Trust Corporation has a one year low of $81.62 and a one year high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 5,225.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.