Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Rating Lowered to Sell at The Goldman Sachs Group

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $82.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, down from their prior target price of $84.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential downside of 8.96% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.42.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock opened at $90.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.50. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $62.44 and a 12-month high of $92.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total value of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,552,052.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at $7,041,285.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,738 shares of company stock worth $1,191,388. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its position in Northern Trust by 986.3% in the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 37,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 34,411 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 6.8% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 360,640 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,111,000 after acquiring an additional 23,020 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 557.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 26,129 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 668.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 17,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 4.3% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 602,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,600,000 after acquiring an additional 24,791 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.