Park National Corp OH Sells 292 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Park National Corp OH decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $551.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NOC opened at $462.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $486.64 and its 200-day moving average is $492.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.