Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced 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 lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded 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. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $488.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $462.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

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.