CNB Bank Purchases 113 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 5,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Greenhouse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research note on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $481.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $482.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.47. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company 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.