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

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 40,119 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 3,632% compared to the typical volume of 1,075 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NTRS shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Northern Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northern Trust from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.3%

NTRS stock traded up $1.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $128.84. The company had a trading volume of 848,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,075. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.32. Northern Trust has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $135.48.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.30%.

Insider Transactions at Northern Trust

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 3,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $128.57 per share, with a total value of $500,265.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $859,619.02. This represents a 139.21% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total value of $3,535,234.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,169.41. This represents a 36.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 1,678.2% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 36,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,615,000 after acquiring an additional 34,587 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Northern Trust by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,245 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 54.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in Northern Trust by 4.6% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 124,447 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

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.