Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 281.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

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 value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $519.35 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $75.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $523.54 and a 200-day moving average of $481.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $2.06 per share. 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 (DPR) is 53.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOC. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten 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 an average price target of $547.44.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.