Sei Investments Co. Sells 1,186 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sei Investments Co. cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $30,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’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 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.5 %

NOC opened at $533.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $534.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $498.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid 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 was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.