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

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 40,119 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 3,632% compared to the average daily volume of 1,075 call options.

Northern Trust Trading Up 1.3%

NTRS stock traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $128.84. The company had a trading volume of 848,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.94 and a 200 day moving average of $123.53. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%.The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,371.55. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,183,169.41. This trade represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 1,678.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 36,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $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% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,245 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 124,447 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,275,000 after buying an additional 5,431 shares during the period. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NTRS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Northern Trust from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 target price on Northern Trust in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

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.