WoodTrust Financial Corp Has $5.23 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,916 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $435.95. 1,103,091 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,069,240. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $456.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.43. The stock has a market cap of $64.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 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.