Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Decreased by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after purchasing an additional 362,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.13 on Tuesday, reaching $485.09. The stock had a trading volume of 907,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,923. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $463.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $71.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

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.