Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 542 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,260 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $505.45 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $523.58 and its 200-day moving average is $482.27. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $73.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34.

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, 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman 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.