Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $560.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $500.00 to $560.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $531.43 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $520.27 and a 200 day moving average of $478.08. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $90,177,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $83,182,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.