Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Reduced by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $482.80 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $498.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

About Northrop Grumman

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.