Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $367,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $474.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $70.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $460.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.48. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $497.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.