Robert W. Baird Increases Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $505.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $475.00 to $505.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.6 %

NOC opened at $480.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $462.59 and a 200 day moving average of $465.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after purchasing an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.