Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Increased by American Trust

American Trust boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 37.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,534 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,814 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,485,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 274.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 38,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $19,308,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $481.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $507.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $487.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $546.81.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.