Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Price

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $127.00 to $125.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on NTRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.83.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NTRS stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.28. The company had a trading volume of 900,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,089. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust has a 1-year low of $76.67 and a 1-year high of $111.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.53 and a 200 day moving average of $94.18. The firm has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Northern Trust's payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total transaction of $2,801,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,630,839. The trade was a 37.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Northern Trust by 3.8% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 41,457 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,482,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 22.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 62,119 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,201 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 77,012 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,467,000 after buying an additional 5,692 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 117,181 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,823,000 after buying an additional 10,917 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 24,678 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 2,381 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.