Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $86.92, but opened at $89.21. Northern Trust Corporation shares last traded at $87.71, with a volume of 2,118,454 shares changing hands.

The asset manager reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.05. Northern Trust Corporation had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Northern Trust Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. Northern Trust Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.78%.

Northern Trust Corporation announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 28th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the asset manager to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BidaskClub lowered shares of Northern Trust Corporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust Corporation in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Jefferies Group LLC raised shares of Northern Trust Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Buckingham Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up from $93.00) on shares of Northern Trust Corporation in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Northern Trust Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Northern Trust Corporation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.67.

In other Northern Trust Corporation news, Vice Chairman William L. Morrison sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.28, for a total value of $2,182,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jana R. Schreuder sold 28,469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $2,619,148.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 458,002 shares of company stock worth $41,937,824. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Northern Trust Corporation during the fourth quarter worth $23,065,000. RMB Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 135.9% in the fourth quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 25,891 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,306,000 after buying an additional 97,933 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,788 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 545,307 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,560,000 after buying an additional 144,440 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Northern Trust Corporation during the fourth quarter worth $1,375,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.23. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96 and a beta of 0.94.

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Northern Trust Corporation Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation is a financial holding company. The Company provides asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, fiduciary and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families and individuals across the world. Its segments include Corporate & Institutional Services (C&IS), Wealth Management, and Treasury and Other.