Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $79.56, but opened at $81.29. Northern Trust shares last traded at $81.82, with a volume of 215,243 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised shares of Northern Trust from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 10,566.7% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Northern Trust by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.