Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 397 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Valley National Advisers Inc. cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 49.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 397 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 281.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $519.35 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $481.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $547.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,490 shares of company stock worth $747,372 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.