First Command Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC – Free Report) by 45.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,533 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,136 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 15.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.6% in the third quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.9% during the third quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 1,190 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.6% during the third quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 725 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman
In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Deutsche Bank set a $615.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $585.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Sunday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.74.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on NOC
Northrop Grumman Stock Performance
Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $550.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $78.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of -0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $519.78 and its 200-day moving average is $587.07. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $470.06 and a one year high of $774.00.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.17%.
Northrop Grumman Profile
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites. The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.
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