Short Interest in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Expands By 21.1%

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,760,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 2,280,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,242,722. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.67, for a total value of $252,042.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 238.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 131,481 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 416,664 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,512,000 after purchasing an additional 148,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:NTRS traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,294,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,378. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $108.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.80. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $79.30 and a 12-month high of $114.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Barclays raised their target price on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.50.

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.