A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 190 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,693 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $696,000. Kingfisher Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $1,359,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 116,442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $54,511,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $329,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $5.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $527.01. The stock had a trading volume of 45,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,805. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $516.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $476.17. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 announced 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. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value 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 approximately $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.