Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,635 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research initiated 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $525.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $496.06 and a 200-day moving average of $469.70. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $528.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 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.