Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Decreased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,709 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,095 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $519.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 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 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.60.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 EPS for the current 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 given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 53.79%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,490 shares of company stock worth $747,372. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $547.44.

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.