Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Lowered by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $534.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $518.63 and a 200-day moving average of $477.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $535.00.

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.