Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) - Analysts at Jefferies Group decreased their FY2017 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Northern Trust Corporation in a research note issued on Wednesday. Jefferies Group analyst K. Usdin now forecasts that the asset manager will earn $4.75 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $5.00. Jefferies Group currently has a “Buy” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for Northern Trust Corporation’s FY2018 earnings at $5.25 EPS.
Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The asset manager reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.05. Northern Trust Corporation had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 20.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank AG decreased their price objective on Northern Trust Corporation from $94.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Northern Trust Corporation in a report on Friday, July 7th. Credit Suisse Group AG restated a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust Corporation in a report on Monday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “buy” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust Corporation in a report on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded Northern Trust Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.27.
Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) opened at 87.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.94. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.92 and a 52-week high of $99.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.21.
Northern Trust Corporation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Northern Trust Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Northern Trust Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is 34.55%.
In related news, CFO Biff Bowman sold 23,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.77, for a total transaction of $2,126,035.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jana R. Schreuder sold 28,469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $2,619,148.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 458,002 shares of company stock valued at $41,937,824 in the last quarter. 1.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 2,771.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,279,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,149,760,000 after buying an additional 12,817,363 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 38.4% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,370,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,071,060,000 after buying an additional 3,430,332 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP boosted its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 82.8% in the first quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 2,742,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $237,458,000 after buying an additional 1,242,643 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 30.2% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 2,553,950 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $221,121,000 after buying an additional 592,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Northern Trust Corporation by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,891,932 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,202,764,000 after buying an additional 527,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.
About Northern Trust Corporation
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.
Receive News & Ratings for Northern Trust Corporation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Northern Trust Corporation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
