Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its target price increased by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $107.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.68% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northern Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.75.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $110.92 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.59. The stock has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust has a 12-month low of $76.67 and a 12-month high of $111.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 10.92%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 7.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total transaction of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,476.46. This represents a 78.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas A. South sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.80, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,253 shares of company stock worth $3,238,073 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 7.2% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,487 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,809 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 54,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,584,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Northern Trust by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,791 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 8.2% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.