Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 41.2% during the first quarter, now owning 40,518 shares valued at $20,746,000.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Kathy J. Warden selling 7,500 shares and VP Robert J. Fleming selling 3,500 shares, both at an average price of $505.77.
• Northrop Grumman reported $7.11 EPS for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate, and announced a new quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share.

Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,518 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 28,426 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $20,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $813,599,000 after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $589.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 992,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,912. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $516.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $594.68. The company has a market capitalization of $84.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.