Stephens Consulting LLC Sells 24 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stephens Consulting LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $530.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $521.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $478.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.