OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Has $1.32 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 96.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $5.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $437.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 278,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,555. The stock has a market cap of $64.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $447.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $457.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.36.

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.