Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,760,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 2,280,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $103.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,113,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,259. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.68. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $79.30 and a 52-week high of $114.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.21 and a 200 day moving average of $101.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. Sell-side analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, EVP Jane Karpinski sold 2,262 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.33, for a total value of $251,828.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,883.88. This trade represents a 11.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total value of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,970,211 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,061 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 4,374 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,296,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $386,809,000 after purchasing an additional 388,692 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 68.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter worth $1,059,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.50.

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.