Farmers Trust Co. Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Farmers Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $536.74. The company had a trading volume of 393,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,192. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $513.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $474.77. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

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.