Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark Welsh III Sells 98 Shares of Company Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark Welsh III sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $3.73 on Tuesday, hitting $551.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 190,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,449. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $470.06 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $520.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $591.43. The company has a market capitalization of $78.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $585.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $620.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.2% during the third quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 1,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 2,469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.