American Trust Purchases 550 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

American Trust raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 35.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,084 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. American Trust's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,954,452,000 after acquiring an additional 23,808 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $475.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 924,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,111. 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 one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $68.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $483.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.