Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III Sells 33 Shares

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.39, for a total transaction of $15,885.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,000,175.45. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $7.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $472.52. 388,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 857,387. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $513.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.60. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.