Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight Rating

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 morning, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $127.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $103.00.

Several other research analysts have also commented on NTRS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.00.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $108.60 on Monday. Northern Trust has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. The stock has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.68.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Tribbett sold 1,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.12, for a total transaction of $163,462.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,120. This represents a 64.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,305,467. This represents a 15.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 84,006 shares of company stock worth $8,653,352 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Northern Trust in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.