Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank has reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5%, now owning 390,345 shares valued at approximately $199.86 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported $7.11 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, along with a 1.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $10.35 billion.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.31 per share, leading to an annualized payout of $9.24 and a dividend yield of 1.6%.

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390,345 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of Northrop Grumman worth $199,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded down $3.04 on Wednesday, hitting $577.77. 318,927 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,001,685. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $594.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $526.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.99. The stock has a market cap of $82.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

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.