Davis R M Inc. Sells 871 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 871 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after acquiring an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $496.87 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $520.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $486.94. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $72.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.