Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 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. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 281.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.7 %

NOC stock opened at $516.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $522.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.30.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.