Stephens Consulting LLC Sells 24 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stephens Consulting LLC decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 300 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,027,000 after buying an additional 14,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $535.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $530.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $521.74 and a 200 day moving average of $478.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

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.