OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,252,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Baring Financial LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $287,000. Invesco LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 6,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,197,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $481.56 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $478.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.