Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its Northrop Grumman stake by 33% in the third quarter, selling 4,871 shares and retaining 9,900 shares valued at about $4.8 million.
• Northrop Grumman’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $7.89 versus $7.18 forecast; revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion, slightly below estimates.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $643.74; shares opened at $524.72, down 4.6% as reported.

AIA Group Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 33.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,900 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,871 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $655,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,121 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $400,557,000 after purchasing an additional 58,690 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the firm'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 trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $620.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 4.6%

NYSE NOC opened at $524.72 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $470.06 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business's 50-day moving average is $520.23 and its 200 day moving average is $590.26.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 31.17%.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation NYSE: NOC is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.

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