First United Bank & Trust Acquires New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,090 shares of company stock valued at $533,853 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $497.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $490.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.42. The company has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

Northrop Grumman 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.