Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 143.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,902 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 2,886 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $10.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $462.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 746,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,557. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $486.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.21. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.