Morgan Stanley Cuts Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target to $125.00

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $127.00 to $125.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on NTRS. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.64.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $103.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Northern Trust has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. The firm has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 37.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 27,874 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.50, for a total value of $2,801,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,630,839. The trade was a 37.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total transaction of $529,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,756 shares in the company, valued at $5,264,184.80. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,489,889 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 41,457 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 62,119 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,201 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 77,012 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,467,000 after purchasing an additional 5,692 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 117,181 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 24,678 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.