Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells 33 Shares of Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.39, for a total transaction of $15,885.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,175.45. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE NOC opened at $473.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently 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.