Bank of Stockton Lowers Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bank of Stockton cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,410 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after buying an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after buying an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $522.88. 69,230 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,456. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $76.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $522.88 and its 200 day moving average is $480.30.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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 53.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,490 shares of company stock worth $747,372. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $542.56.

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.