Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northern Trust from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.17.

Northern Trust Stock Up 4.4 %

NTRS stock opened at $106.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.08. Northern Trust has a one year low of $76.67 and a one year high of $111.87. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.42.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 16,153 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,698,972.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,397 shares in the company, valued at $462,476.46. The trade was a 78.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Steven L. Fradkin sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,797 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 82,151 shares of company stock worth $8,489,889. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 388,692 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $538,000. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in Northern Trust by 8.4% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 59,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 327.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after purchasing an additional 21,835 shares in the last quarter. 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.