Pacifica Partners Inc. Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pacifica Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,348 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $534.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $513.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $474.85. The company has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 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 (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

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.