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

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 15,274 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,256% compared to the average daily volume of 1,126 call options.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS traded up $9.70 on Monday, hitting $121.55. 6,069,823 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,333,256. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.17. The firm has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.22. Northern Trust has a twelve month low of $80.81 and a twelve month high of $123.20.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 13.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.47%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,163.20. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total value of $650,709.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 79,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,988,322.42. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069 over the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the first quarter worth about $2,140,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the first quarter worth $99,000. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Northern Trust by 39.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $306,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northern Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.42.

Northern Trust Company Profile

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.