Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Sells 1,156 Shares of Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $493.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $523.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.13. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.