Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the February 13th total of 2,760,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Northern Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

NTRS traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $98.77. 3,686,301 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,178,497. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.37. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $79.32 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The company has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

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Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at $2,987,202.96. The trade was a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total transaction of $251,828.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,883.88. The trade was a 11.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Northern Trust by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings 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 period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.50.

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.