Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target Raised to $178.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $159.00 to $178.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.80% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $151.00 in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.91.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ NTRS traded down $3.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $168.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 276,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,798. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Northern Trust has a 1-year low of $90.05 and a 1-year high of $173.18.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The asset manager reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.Northern Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter Cherecwich sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.62, for a total transaction of $3,740,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 26,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,928,871.58. This represents a 48.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Petrino acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $148.91 per share, with a total value of $148,910.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $496,168.12. The trade was a 42.88% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 34,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,166,714 in the last ninety days. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $257,410,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 4th quarter worth $126,794,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,516 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $235,415,000 after acquiring an additional 703,985 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,579 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,903,000 after acquiring an additional 549,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Northern Trust

Here are the key news stories impacting Northern Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — Northern Trust reported diluted EPS of $2.71 and fully taxable equivalent revenue of ~$2.21B, with net income ~$525.5M and improved credit quality and operating leverage cited on the call. These upside surprises are the primary catalyst for the rally. Q1 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Strong capital returns highlighted — the company disclosed a 100% total payout for the quarter (dividends plus ~$359M in buybacks), which supports EPS and shareholder value and likely helped push the stock higher. QuiverQuant Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target tick higher — Truist lifted its price target from $155 to $176 (hold), signaling modest additional upside relative to current levels and reinforcing the takeaways from the quarter. Truist/PT Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared — Northern Trust set a $0.80 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend June 5, payable July 1), implying an annualized yield near 1.9%; supportive for income investors but not a large yield.
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference call and coverage available — detailed Q&A and analyst takes (transcripts on Seeking Alpha/Yahoo) provide more color on fee drivers, AUM/AUC growth and margin dynamics for those evaluating sustainability of the beat. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Pressure points: revenue mix and expenses — some writeups note revenue growth lagging certain segments and higher expenses; long‑term margin sustainability will be monitored. Zacks Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Notable institutional and insider selling activity — recent filings and data show large quarter‑end reductions by some asset managers and multiple insider sales, which could weigh on sentiment if sustained. QuiverQuant Ownership Data

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.