Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Holdings Boosted by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,833 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the second quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renasant Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the first quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0 %

NOC stock opened at $521.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $490.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.51. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $528.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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 return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

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.