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

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 3.8%

NOC traded down $19.83 on Monday, hitting $496.89. 1,166,017 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,354. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $490.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $422.19 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $71.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 36.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $284,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after acquiring an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $363,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.