Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,580 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,890,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 848 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $500.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $486.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

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.