Northern Trust Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 15,274 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,256% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,126 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 79,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total value of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,163.20. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 528.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $118.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.22. Northern Trust has a 1 year low of $80.81 and a 1 year high of $123.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 13.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on NTRS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price (up previously from $101.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.42.

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.