Truist Financial Corp Buys 596 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,184 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $23,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $486.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $463.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.78.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

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.