Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,695 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.8% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 620 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the first quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 63,642 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,585,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 83,938 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,977,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 $3,793,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NOC opened at $590.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $84.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month high of $592.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $513.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.79.

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.