First National Trust Co Sells 1,124 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Key Points

• First National Trust Co reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 22.7%, selling 1,124 shares and holding 3,828 shares worth approximately $1.96 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported a quarterly EPS of $7.11, exceeding expectations and marking a revenue increase to $10.35 billion, a 1.3% rise year-over-year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $2.06 to $2.31 per share, which equates to an annualized yield of 1.61%.

First National Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,828 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,124 shares during the period. First National Trust Co's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business'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 $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $3.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $589.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,436. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $511.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.57. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $592.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $84.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

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.