Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,532 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 526 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $36,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 12,521 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,411,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 15,289 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,828,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $205,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 62,037 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,848 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,994 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on 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, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $553.43.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.2%
NYSE:NOC opened at $483.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.14. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $422.69 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average is $487.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $483.14.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 36.46%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman
In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,322,279 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Northrop Grumman Profile
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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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