The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Price

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its target price boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $92.00 to $102.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NTRS. StockNews.com downgraded Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.75.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS opened at $110.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.83 and a 200 day moving average of $96.40. Northern Trust has a fifty-two week low of $76.67 and a fifty-two week high of $111.87.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 10.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 7.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at $462,476.46. The trade was a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,305,467. The trade was a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,253 shares of company stock valued at $3,238,073 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 378 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.