Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $115.15 and last traded at $113.83, with a volume of 513 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTRS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.58.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.16.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value 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 approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,631 shares of company stock worth $4,550,459. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $1,622,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 5.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 41,075 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 26.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. 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.