Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $93.31 and last traded at $93.20, with a volume of 118071 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $91.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.42.

Northern Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

The business's 50 day moving average is $88.27 and its 200 day moving average is $86.01. 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 cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 41.04%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northern Trust news, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total value of $163,462.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $88,120. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,552,052.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,738 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,388. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Bayesian Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 34,411 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 112.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $316,000. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 191,829 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.