Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells $54,453.70 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark Welsh III sold 98 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE NOC opened at $525.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $519.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $589.56. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $470.06 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The stock has a market cap of $74.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.2% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.8% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,587,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northrop Grumman

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.