Commerce Bank Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,935 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank owned about 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $43,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.71.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $10.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $474.19. 993,825 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 883,043. The stock's 50-day moving average is $489.82 and its 200-day moving average is $491.26. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $68.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.