Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renasant Bank raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

NOC stock opened at $522.36 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $469.25. The stock 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 fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

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.