Smithfield Trust Co Acquires 35 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,318 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $297,937,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 443,724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,139,000 after acquiring an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 357,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $188,767,000 after acquiring an additional 39,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 353,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $186,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $491.98 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $521.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.48. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.