Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,929 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 8,509 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.1 %

NOC stock opened at $520.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $524.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.78. The stock has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

About Northrop Grumman

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.