Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,697,915 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 155,520 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,424,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value 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 trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $488.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $519.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna upped 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, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

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.