Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 276.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,574 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,828 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $521.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.1 %

NOC opened at $509.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $511.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $460.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $460.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

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.