Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Reduced by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 25.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 79.2% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 181 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,608 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $18,959,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $520.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $522.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $480.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $77.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $535.00.

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.