Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 3,660 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 51.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,470 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,660 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,866,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $522.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $528.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $494.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.