Colonial Trust Co SC Purchases 42 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 746 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE NOC opened at $486.44 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $497.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $487.90. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

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.