Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $395,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 260 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 154.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 936 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $502.03 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 one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $478.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $495.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

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.