Commerce Bank Acquires 57,154 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 381.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,119 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,154 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $33,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 20,185 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,449,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 533 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $184,000. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $466.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 152,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,550. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $468.58 and a 200-day moving average of $465.14. The company has a market cap of $68.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $514.33.

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.