Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,785 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $497.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $470.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $460.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.12. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

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.