Fulton Bank N.A. Purchases 252 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 26.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,215 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,063,364,000 after purchasing an additional 80,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $590,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $5.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $492.36. The company had a trading volume of 407,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,739. The company has a market capitalization of $72.86 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $444.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.86. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $506.83.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $516.29.

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.