M&T Bank Corp Has $8.96 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,099 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $94,370,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,171,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $622,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $475.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $469.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.