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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $535.60, for a total transaction of $17,674.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,767.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $532.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $514.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $475.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.83 billion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during 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 grew its holdings 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 worth $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,156,477 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $541,393,000 after purchasing an additional 28,934 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

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.