Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One reduced its Northrop Grumman stake by 3.7% in the third quarter, selling 2,623 shares and retaining 68,163 shares valued at approximately $33.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of NOC.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74. Recent targets range from $605 to $765.
• Northrop Grumman exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $7.89 versus the $7.18 consensus, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $2.47, or $9.88 annualized, yielding about 1.8%.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,163 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,623 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 839 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.2% during the first quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 618 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 1,796 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the first quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the second quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 2,469 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $643.74.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $551.70 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $521.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $592.42. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $470.06 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.67 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.17%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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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