Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $127.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous target price of $103.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $108.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $76.67 and a 52-week high of $111.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.68.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This trade represents a 15.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,120. This trade represents a 64.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,006 shares of company stock worth $8,653,352. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,187,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,637,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542,685 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 13.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,413,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $622,596,000 after purchasing an additional 850,556 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,085,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $637,873,000 after purchasing an additional 38,360 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,644,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $222,060,000 after buying an additional 91,816 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,003,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,253,000 after buying an additional 219,387 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently 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.