Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,752 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE NOC traded down $6.45 on Thursday, reaching $468.24. The company had a trading volume of 422,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 968,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $468.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $69.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

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.