Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Hits New 52-Week High at $512.38

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $512.38 and last traded at $510.84, with a volume of 40233 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $462.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.19. The firm has a market cap of $75.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,063,364,000 after acquiring an additional 80,887 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,137,000 after acquiring an additional 16,275 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.