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

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 15,647 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 637% compared to the average volume of 2,122 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTRS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Northern Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Northern Trust Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ NTRS traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.51. The company had a trading volume of 63,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,804. The business's 50-day moving average is $114.10 and its 200-day moving average is $105.86. 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 market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.26. Northern Trust has a 52 week low of $80.81 and a 52 week high of $133.00.

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

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Northern Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northern Trust news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 28,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,163.20. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total transaction of $650,709.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 79,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,988,322.42. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,772 shares of company stock worth $981,069 in the last 90 days. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 68.4% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 320 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.