Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 15,647 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 637% compared to the typical volume of 2,122 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTRS has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Northern Trust from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Northern Trust from $118.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,736 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of Northern Trust 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 sale, the insider owned 79,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069 over the last quarter. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTRS. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 6,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 260 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Northern Trust by 5,340.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 272 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northern Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northern Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTRS opened at $123.60 on Wednesday. Northern Trust has a twelve month low of $80.81 and a twelve month high of $133.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $113.56 and its 200-day moving average is $105.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.26.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Northern Trust had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northern Trust will post 8.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given 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 dividend yield of 2.43%. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

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.