Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Increased to $518.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $483.00 to $518.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on NOC. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $469.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $464.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.