First County Bank CT Sells 62 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First County Bank CT trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $549.93.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded down $2.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $452.50. The company had a trading volume of 700,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,910. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.28.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.