Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) VP Sells $368,706.33 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $494.16 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $490.53 and a 200 day moving average of $482.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $422.69 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.6% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $4,764,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.33.

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.