Charles Schwab Trust Co Acquires New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Charles Schwab Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 547 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $73,279,000 after buying an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $363,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,057 shares of company stock worth $517,733. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $487.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $491.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

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.

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