Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells 33 Shares of Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.50, for a total transaction of $16,120.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,137,676. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $8.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $497.10. 635,084 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $490.15 and a 200 day moving average of $482.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $4,764,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 97.0% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $17,371,000. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 640 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.