Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $86.78, but opened at $92.55. Northern Trust shares last traded at $90.55, with a volume of 245,202 shares.

The asset manager reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.74% and a net margin of 12.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NTRS. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $110.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason J. Tyler sold 2,237 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,585,448.83. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $100,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $851,401.60. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211 over the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 942 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 68.3% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 11,950 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 4,850 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Northern Trust by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,305 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,653,000 after buying an additional 5,244 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 1,299.7% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 115,024 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,348,000 after buying an additional 106,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 14.5% during the first quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,830 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $98.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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.