Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,887 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 797 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $500.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $486.03. The stock has a market cap of $72.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

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.