Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Reduces Holdings

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,450 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $25,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,202,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 17.4% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.6% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,359 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.4% in the third quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.1% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 6,681 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $550.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of -0.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $519.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $587.07. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $470.06 and a 1-year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.67 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. TD Cowen cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank set a $615.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $419.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites. The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.