Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $108.00 to $110.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Northern Trust traded as high as $108.83 and last traded at $108.81, with a volume of 392996 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.60.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on NTRS. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Northern Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Northern Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares in the company, valued at $4,630,839. This represents a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,552,052.30. The trade was a 17.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,906 shares of company stock valued at $8,176,652 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Northern Trust by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 119,389 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,610,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 4,646.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 29,097 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 28,484 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the first quarter worth about $638,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the first quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company's stock.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $96.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.06.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

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.