Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.75.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRS traded up $1.38 on Friday, hitting $110.92. 1,437,822 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,240,355. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $111.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $105.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.40.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

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

About Northern Trust

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.