Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA Has $1.84 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $454.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $476.15 and a 200-day moving average of $499.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman 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.