Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Hits New 1-Year High at $536.61

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $536.61 and last traded at $535.88, with a volume of 30035 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $528.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $510.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,262,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $293,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 26,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,066,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.6% during the third quarter. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. now owns 690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.