Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,246 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $15,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second 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 period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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 approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.5 %

NOC stock 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 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $534.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $498.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $470.38.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

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.