Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Price Target Lowered at Evercore

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its target price reduced by Evercore from $183.00 to $179.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NTRS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $189.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Northern Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $159.00 to $178.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.03.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $3.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $169.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,219,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,102,797. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $175.79 and its 200 day moving average is $165.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.24. Northern Trust has a twelve month low of $121.53 and a twelve month high of $195.78.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The asset manager reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 17.97%. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 11.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.90, for a total value of $332,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,180,353.30. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Susan Levy sold 3,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.69, for a total value of $661,602.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,016,474.82. This represents a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,706 shares of company stock worth $3,850,282. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $4,470,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth $2,303,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 622,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $86,931,000 after buying an additional 33,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,432,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) is a financial services company that provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services. The company serves institutional investors, corporations, financial institutions, high-net-worth individuals and families.

Its offerings include custody and administration of investment assets, fund accounting, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury services, investment management, trust and estate services, private banking and wealth planning.