Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $500.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $524.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $486.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $72.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman 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.