Crews Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 133 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $486.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $478.40 and its 200 day moving average is $497.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.