Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Stock Price

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $136.00 to $132.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 34.14% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com cut Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Northern Trust from $113.00 to $104.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on 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, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.69.

Northern Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

NTRS traded up $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.41. The company had a trading volume of 386,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,688. The company has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Northern Trust has a one year low of $79.32 and a one year high of $114.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.14.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.30. Northern Trust had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 13.74%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Thomas A. South sold 3,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $429,852.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,242,722. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 26,132 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.36, for a total transaction of $2,936,191.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,202.96. This trade represents a 49.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,335 shares of company stock worth $3,970,211. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,168,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 26,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 327.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in Northern Trust by 79.3% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 4,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northern Trust by 48.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 8,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.