Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Holdings Trimmed by Sargent Investment Group LLC

Sargent Investment Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 82.5% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the third quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,037 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NOC traded down $7.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $480.45. 1,371,947 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,454. The stock has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $462.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $503.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.