Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by American National Bank & Trust

American National Bank & Trust reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,707 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 22,878 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,979 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $596,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 16,988 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,953,000 after purchasing an additional 8,626 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $538.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $510.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.82. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by 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.