Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock: Focused Investors LLC Trims Holdings

Focused Investors LLC reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 134,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 25,700 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for about 2.7% of Focused Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $65,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $5,773,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $3,308,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,298,141,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,461,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $550.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of -0.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $520.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $590.91. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $470.06 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 31.17%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.