Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by ASB Consultores LLC

ASB Consultores LLC reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 834 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 815 shares during the period. ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors increased 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’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 owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’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 transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’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 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $522.36 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $528.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $494.20 and a 200 day moving average 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. The company has a market capitalization of $77.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

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.