Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Sells 1,479 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,598 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,479 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $625.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $569.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.0%

NOC traded up $5.41 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $573.91. 392,732 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,023,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company's fifty day moving average price is $497.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $488.96. The company has a market cap of $82.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $576.86.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.