Short Interest in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) Declines By 16.0%

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

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $83.38 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.68. The firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Northern Trust has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $89.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is currently 66.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTRS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northern Trust from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Northern Trust from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wolfe Research cut Northern Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.92.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total value of $2,434,703.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 55,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,462,687.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $3,166,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Northern Trust by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 87,224 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Northern Trust by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 87,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,802,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northern Trust by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 406,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,119,000 after purchasing an additional 37,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Northern Trust by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.