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

Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the March 31st total of 2,060,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Northern Trust Trading Down 1.4 %

NTRS stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 963,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.90. Northern Trust has a 1 year low of $62.44 and a 1 year high of $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 66.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballast Inc. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 12,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

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.