Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Stokes Family Office LLC

Stokes Family Office LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,846,289,000 after acquiring an additional 142,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $547,739,000 after acquiring an additional 79,263 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 867,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $381,705,000 after purchasing an additional 21,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $469.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,443,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

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.