Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $625.00 at Morgan Stanley

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $580.00 to $625.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.76% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on NOC. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.59.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $10.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $539.93. 348,321 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 862,104. The firm has a market cap of $77.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Paragon Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $439,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.2% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,873 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Neumann Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $308,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $54,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.