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

Fiduciary Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $1,133,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 133.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $489.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $517.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $487.15. The company has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is 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.