Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Cut by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises 2.2% of Advisor OS LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $20,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $515.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.36. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $528.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following 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 the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman 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.