Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) PT Raised to $587.00 at Citigroup

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $521.00 to $587.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $527.19.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $528.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $517.80 and its 200-day moving average is $476.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently 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.