M&T Bank Corp Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 17.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,761 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,338 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $813,599,000 after buying an additional 343,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on 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 shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NOC traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $514.60. The stock had a trading volume of 379,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,178. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $424.66 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.15. The business's fifty day moving average is $488.87 and its 200 day moving average is $485.25. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insider Transactions 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 owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.