Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 5,353 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 1.5%, selling 5,353 shares and now holding 360,262 shares valued at approximately $184.46 million.
• Insider selling activity includes CEO Kathy J. Warden selling 7,500 shares for over $3.79 million, resulting in a 3.59% decrease in her ownership.
• Northrop Grumman's recent earnings report revealed a quarterly revenue of $10.35 billion and EPS of $7.11, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 360,262 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 5,353 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.25% of Northrop Grumman worth $184,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $584.02 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $594.68. The company's fifty day moving average price is $532.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $83.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Northrop Grumman 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.

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