Busey Bank Decreases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Busey Bank lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NOC opened at $483.70 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $478.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.63. 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 market capitalization of $70.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

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.