Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Holdings Raised by First County Bank CT

First County Bank CT boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $496.41 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $521.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $486.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.