BLB&B Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $870,000. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after buying an additional 14,275 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $516.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $522.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.30.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $535.00.

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.