Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Sells $663,330.84 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $1.76 on Monday, hitting $478.54. The company had a trading volume of 518,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,460. The firm has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $441.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth 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. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $517.54.

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.