Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $545.31 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $545.31.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $622,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 32,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $472.67 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $496.53 and its 200 day moving average is $485.78. The firm has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

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.