Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 87.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,449 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $73,279,000 after purchasing an additional 66,638 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $552.54.
Read Our Latest Analysis on NOC
Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman
In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%
NOC stock opened at $494.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.14. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $422.69 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $484.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $483.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.
Northrop Grumman Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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