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.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NTRS shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Inc. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Northern Trust by 2.5% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,768 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.