Fiduciary Trust Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fiduciary Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $1,110,000. Fullcircle Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 358,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $168,164,000 after purchasing an additional 32,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 746 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $482.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.33. The firm has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.