Commerce Bank Buys 57,789 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

by · The Markets Daily

Commerce Bank increased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC – Free Report) by 62.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150,724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 57,789 shares during the period. Commerce Bank owned 0.10% of Northrop Grumman worth $77,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.8% in the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,866 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 65,079 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,321,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 230.8% during the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 9,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,972,000 after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.79.

View Our Latest Analysis on NOC

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $576.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $82.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $577.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $509.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $493.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

About Northrop Grumman

(Free Report)

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.

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