Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) CFO Sells $208,872.50 in Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) CFO David Fox, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.05, for a total transaction of $208,872.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 20,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,904,336.10. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NTRS traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $147.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,224,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,092,115. Northern Trust Corporation has a 1-year low of $81.62 and a 1-year high of $157.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Northern Trust in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Northern Trust by 13.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,984,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 39.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $242,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 89.9% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 7,582 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,691 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,333,000 after buying an additional 30,383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.