QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 216 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley increased 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $521.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $3.02 on Friday, reaching $494.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 519,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 968,294. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $456.45. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $506.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

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.