Means Investment CO. Inc. Sells 1,486 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Means Investment CO. Inc. cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,607 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,486 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,804 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.6% during the second quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.6% during the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.7% in the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Finally, Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the second quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,465,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $1.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $504.87. 344,237 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 956,660. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $508.47. The company has a market cap of $74.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $452.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $458.64.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $521.33.

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.