Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Sets New 1-Year High at $536.61

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $536.61 and last traded at $535.88, with a volume of 30035 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $528.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research initiated 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $507.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after buying an additional 416,768 shares during the period. 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 during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,177,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% 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.