First County Bank CT Cuts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First County Bank CT cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NOC traded down $2.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $452.50. The company had a trading volume of 700,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $65.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $488.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.28. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $549.93.

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.